Surrender
by redvelvetcupcakes
Summary: All he had ever done had been for her. He had surrendered his very self for her and now she had to return the gesture. Even if it did mean sacrificing everyone she had ever known and loved. Rogan
1. Chapter 1

A/N- For all the readers of my ongoing fanfic atm, i am so sorry i have writers block, this is an attempt to keep myself disciplined. BTW Don't own Marvel or any marvel characters yadi yadi yada (we already know this)

Anyhow this story is Logan/Rogue in an AU, keeping with the movies until after Ellis Island, Alkali Lake never happened.

* * *

Prologue

2010

It was a deceptively beautiful night. The Arizona desert had cooled as the blood red sun had retreated to below the horizon and the giant full moon had begun the ritualistic path across the starry sky. Lighting the world in its own divine way.

Scott Summers used that radiance to navigate his way up the steep hill; the underbrush hid the cracked plain and numerous other insects, or snakes. Though any poisonous animal would have trouble getting through his thick boots, or the leather uniform that had been proudly emblazoned with the X, the same red as his ruby quartz glasses- and Jean Grey's hair. Some may consider it conspicuous but the X-Men had long since moved beyond the point where secrecy was needed. Indeed the X had become a rallying banner to numerous mutants and humans everywhere-

Almost as many who had rallied to the other side.

At the top of the hill stood a dying tree, poisoned by the toxic chemicals spreading throughout the ground, the three slabs of stone that had been piled together to mark the beginning of the boundaries. Rid of all moss or lichen, it made the perfect stepping stone for Scott as he padded lightly onto the highest one and propelled himself over. From the other side of the hill he could see into a valley, which to his eyes was empty, he knew better, a perception filter was interrupting the image when it reached his eyes. His brain knew what was there, even if he couldn't see it. It didn't matter though, he wasn't there for the sightseeing. Moving back to the stones, he stepped around them this time, standing unquestionably in his territory. Not that it would matter to him much; however, it might be easier for his teammates to recover his body.

"I could kill you where you stand"

The voice seemed disembodied, as if carried on the wind, perhaps even telepathically. Rough, angry, animal growl in place of human speech, the voice was given physical shape as from the shadows stepped a man.

Though that three-letter word was an exceptional understatement.

He was short in stature, surprisingly that was never noticed by onlookers, he had a stocky and powerful physique. With a face that was still young but weathered by his outdoor life, he could be handsome. His eyes made that impossible though; there was a hunger in them, a savagery that dated back to a bygone age of blood feuds and honour debts, a desperation that would hopefully be manipulated tonight.

Scott scoffed, though he knew that statement was _very_ true.

"Right because we both know I tripped that alarm by _total_ accident"

He was answered with a growl as the infamous warrior circled him, animalistic in his every step. A predator with his prey

"What d'ya want Cyclops?"

Feigning nonchalance, Scott Summers rubbed the corner of his ruby quartz lens, removing a non-existent speck,

"It's not what I want Logan" he replied, deliberately using the man's human name in the hope to appeal to his human nature. However, simply by being here he was tending to his own worst human traits.

"It's about what you want…_who_ you want actually…who you've wanted for the last six yea…"

A blood-curdling snarl broke the tense air around them as with super human speed Scott found himself a foot in the air, dangling as the Wolverine squeezed the air from his throat. The man's eyes were completely black, bulging, his face flushed, and his teeth bared, "Don't you _dare_ say her name"

With the last gasp of air in his body Scott let the name burst from his lips,

"_Rogue_"


	2. Chapter 2

2004

Jubilee shimmied onto the dance floor, the crowd parting to make way for her and her girls. Her hips swaying and her shoulders moving up and down obviously the longing to break into dance was driving her crazy, it would be difficult however with her hands linked with her two best friends.

Kitty Pryde and Marie D'Ancanto.

Rogue.

Hands down the most beautiful female in the room.

It had taken weeks to try to convince the young woman to even consider attending the disco, Xavier had agreed to have in the rec room- the largest space in the mansion, but it was clearly worth the effort just to see how damn great the southerner could make herself look.

Having granted her hair a short reprieve from the daily routine of straightening, it had quickly regressed into large ringlets with the white stripes being pinned down the middle. Very little make-up graced her pretty face, the slightest dusting of jade eye shadow to illuminate her bright green eyes. It was her outfit that was the shocker though, or almost lack thereof. A short-sleeved emerald silk shirt with three small glass buttons stretched over her breasts and exposed her stomach, right down to her old denim shorts that weren't decent by any standards and heavily frayed. To protect herself and those around her she wore a skin-coloured body stocking and torn black tights.

The outfit was finished by black boots and fingerless motorbike gloves.

It was outrageous.

It was _hot_.

And once she started dancing all eyes just _had_ to turn to her. Her artless skill, the way she instantly found the beat and didn't seem to care who was watching.

Jean Grey watched all this with a smile on her lips, feeling a sense of pride at the thought of all she'd done for Wolverine's little friend and remembering how she had torn up the floor in her day. Now she was a fiancé, she stayed on the sidelines watching her man keep a sharp eye on the punchbowl, god help any kid that tried to spike it this year.

The music was deafening but she was still able to detect, thanks to her selective hearing, the roar of a familiar motorbike. She sat up ramrod straight causing Ororo next to her to frown in concern. She knew the front door was being opened, and sensed Professor Xavier rolling out to greet the Prodigal Son. She looked up from her clenched hands and there he was.

Leaning against the doorjamb to the rec room, the Wolverine in all his dark brooding glory surveyed the party with disinterest. Jean fixed the smile on her face, changing it from happiness to politeness, noting Scott's displeasure in the back of her mind. The quickest way to the Canadian hulk of muscle would be through the dance floor of teens, but before she could take a step, over the lull in the music she heard the excited cry.

"Logan!"

With the grace of youth, Rogue darted around her still moving peers and met the intruder with open arms, being swung into an embrace and spun in the air; she shouted joyously and held him with sheer happiness.

And he was _smiling_!

Jean could see the flash of his white teeth in the spinning colourful lights, the grip of his hands on her tiny waist and the way he ducked his head to her ear, more to show his interest than actual need.

Suddenly the generation Y's answer to music was interrupted by the greatest band to have _ever_ come out of Australia.

ACDC.

The opening cords were greatest with cries of appreciation and Jean temporarily lost sight of the duo in the jumping of the students.

"_She was a fast machine _

_She cut the motors clean _

_She was the best damn woman that I ever seen"_

Glancing around anxiously she saw them again, saw Rogue's gloved hands tangled in Logan's shirt as she cajoled him onto the dance floor, he was playing reluctance with a barely convincible façade. Catching her wrist, he twirled her, caught her in his arms, and led her in a casual modern waltz.

Watching the slim, sprite swaying in Wolverine's arms, Jean Grey suddenly felt every one of her thirty-nine years.

'I danced to this song when I was a teen' she mused sadly,

'Was Rogue even born then?'

She was old enough to be the girl's mother, and looked like it too.

She had always loved her hair, but now her flaming locks seemed wiry and rusty, her character lines were wrinkles, her intelligent brand glasses betrayed her failing eyes, her nice, age appropriate clothes made her dowdy and plain, highlighting none of her still attractive features.

Wolverine had still to look at her. What had happened to all those lovely things he had said to feel for her when he'd first arrived?  
That had been a year ago and Rogue, overly thin and timid had been a candle to Jean's sun. Now Jean was eclipsed and the evening star had risen, shining bright with the intensity that comes with being unchallenged.

Feeling tired she muttered some excuse to Ororo and Scott, thirty-four and thirty-five, and edging around the room, eased herself into the hall and all but floated down the corridor into her bedroom.

* * *

Around midnight she was woken by the sound of Scott climbing into bed beside her, she blinked against the lamp on the bedside table, the harsh yellow light infiltrating her drowsiness. Clearly tired he rested an arm across Jean, pressing his lips to hers lazily. In the early days of their relationship, he'd have woken her with a passionate kiss and they'd have made love all through the night, sleeping naked to save time. Now she was dressed in a practical woollen blue-sleeved nightgown that fell to her ankles, it kept her warm- and made her a shapeless old hag. Scott had thrown on a ratty old t-shirt and boxers,

They were too old to be passionate anymore.

* * *

Three am. She hadn't slept for two hours, getting out of bed and burying her feet into her furry pink slippers, she tried to persuade herself that a glass of warm milk would get her back to sleep.

A ripple in the current of her telepathy alerted her to another's presence, knowing it not to be Ororo she ducked back into her room, not wanting anyone to see her.

Hunger, _Animalistic_ hunger.

The Wolverine.

He was awake and moving throughout the mansion.

She couldn't remember actually choosing to follow him, but it was as if he was drawing her to him- something within him, something purely primal, it called to her blood. She wouldn't fool herself, all women could feel it around him.

An almost regressive urge, not the desire to be better than they were but to be _more_.

Whether he wanted them to be or not.

She found him in the student dormitories, barely distinguishable from the shadows. His quick movements were jarring and fluid, stumped and graceful, his breath ragged and inaudible, his very being dedicated and impassioned whilst wracked with self-doubt and hesitation.

Judging from his absorption that he wouldn't sense her, Jean sneaked forward, concealing herself in a wall niche.

She gasped as she got her bearings, realising that Wolverine was pacing outside someone's bedroom.

And she could see exactly whose bedroom it was.

Rogue's.

He almost seemed to be standing guard; he was pacing three diagonal steps outside her room, stopping occasionally and tilting his head, staring at the door before resuming his action.

Suddenly the softest of cries drifted into the corridor, reaching both their ears.

Like a predator catching the scent of prey, the Wolverine froze for one second, then a smothered squeal.

His decision made he strode to the door and shuddering visibly, pushed it open and disappeared inside.

Like a magnet, Jean followed, still unseen.

Rogue had obviously been caught in the throws of a nightmare. It had happened before, almost regularly since Ellis Island, the Professor had advised the staff to leave Rogue to her nightmares, hoping that if she was left to her own devices that she would deal with them by herself.

Wolverine didn't know that and probably wouldn't have abided by it anyway, she watched as he looked down at the single bed, staring helplessly at the entangled girl whose hair shrouded her face. Tentatively he bent down and tugged at the blankets, trying to ease their vice-like grip on the girl, settling them into a more comfortable position, he then reached into his back pocket, drawing out a pair of bike gloves. His skin protected, he brushed Rogue's hair from her face, returning to her the ability to breathe freely, in response she turned her face deeper into the pillow, sighing and chewing in her sleep.

Jean was deceived by the serenity of the moment; she jumped upon hearing the Wolverine's groan. He sank onto the bed and leaning over, brought his face to about an inch from hers. Her brow creased and she turned her face back to his, a whimper escaping her plush lips. A breathy chuckle issued from the Wolverine and he ducked his head pressing his lips against hers so quickly her powers couldn't take effect.

"Sleep well my darlin,'" he murmured, getting up and smoothing her blankets once more. He closed the door softly behind him and sauntered down the hall, making a direct path for the staff dormitories where they had stuck him for the night.

Jean had scarpered back into hiding the moment she had seen him move. Now she emerged with an acidic feeling in the back of her throat and what felt like an approaching headache, but she was firm in her resolve.

She would tell the Professor everything.

A/N- Yes ACDC is originally Aussie- take that America!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N- Evil Xavier makes appearance. As opposed to good Xavier who we always see.

"Come in"

Xavier made a show of rifling through the papers on his desk, signing his initials at the bottom of one sheet to show that he had read it. It was the nonchalant movement of a man who wanted nothing more than to exchange pleasantries with his visitor.

It was a farce.

"Wanted to see me Chuck?"

He looked up as the Wolverine strode in, his powerful body and erect stance giving him an enviable aura of intimidation.

"Ah yes; please, take a seat"

"Nah I'm good"

The Professor blinked and scrutinised the face before him, deciding that he wasn't being disrespected in any way, his visitor just preferred to stand.

At least he wasn't smoking.

"Very well, I'll cut straight to the point as I'm sure you'll appreciate. I spoke to Jean this morning about something she witnessed last night that distressed her…"

"Me outside Marie's room?"

He blinked in surprise again, "You were aware she was present?"

"Not til I was walkin' away and smelt her scent round the place. How long was she watchin' me for?"

"Does it matter?" he inquired, keeping his tone studiously neutral. Wolverine shrugged, "Don't take well to bein' watched is all, sets me on edge"

"Perhaps in this case it was fortuitous that you were being watched, if you choose to make a habit of wandering into sleeping girls rooms"

There it was out in the open.

He waited for the anger, the denial, and the defence. All he got was confusion,

"She was havin' a nightmare I wanted to make sure she was alright. I wouldn't call it a habit, more a one off thing"

The Professor moved himself away from the desk, around it, closer to the man he was interrogating, the next question was crucial.

"And kissing them? Would you call that habit or a 'one off thing'"

He wouldn't have thought the Wolverine capable of blushing, but he swore that was what he saw the man do, then drop his gaze to the side, rubbing the back of his neck as he avoided his interrogator's gaze.

"I didn' realise Jeannie saw _that_…"

"Thankfully _she_ did, had it been Scott or I you might have woken up in the med bay shackled to the bed"

"Excuse me?"

His entire air had changed, his head tilted slightly, in a manner like the animal for which he was named. He had become tense, battle ready and the Professor found himself inadvertently hastening to justify his threat.

"I run a school Wolverine, an institution of young, vulnerable students many of them female…"

"And you think I'm a threat?"

"If you observe it from my perspective, last night you chose to make a sexual advance on an unconscious, underage female…"

"It was Marie, Chuck! Toxicity aside, it was my Marie not one of your little girls…"

"Your Marie?" he questioned, "You believe she's yours"

"No…I" he broke off and the telepath was suddenly bombarded with the mutants thoughts and emotions.  
"You desire her" he murmured stunned, "She's just a child, yet you…"

"It's not like that," Wolverine explained hastily, "I don't want her in that way…not now when she's too young…"

"Oh and when will she be old enough?" he retorted, "Eighteen? Nineteen? Twenty-one? Old enough to drink, old enough to be bedded by the one man she trusts…"

"I love her"

Upon interrupting with those three words his voice broke, he took a deep breath and tried to continue. "Don't you see Professor? Everythin' I've done since I met her, it's been for her. And when she's old enough…I'll tell her that and then she can decide what to do with me"

The Professor shook his head, struggling to comprehend the twisted logic,

"So you believe all you've done gives you the right to claim her?"

"It gives me the right to love her and despite what you or your cronies think, I'd never harm a hair on her head"

Resting his elbow on the arm of his wheelchair, he rubbed his forehead exhaustedly, "Theoretically I am supposed to trust that, for the next year or three, despite you living down the hall from the female you believe yourself to love dearly, and who trusts you beyond all others. A ward of _my_ responsibility who, to my belief, would concur to any seduction on your part, to partake in daily contact with you, and I am supposed to trust that you will honour your word"

"I've never broken it before" he swore, "Anyone I've given it to, in the last twenty years of my memory, will tell you that, especially with Marie…I wouldn't risk losing her"

'_Scott'_

'_Yes Professor?'_

'_Come to my office please, I have an assignment for you'_

"I am sorry Wolverine" the Professor apologised, "But Rogue is a dependant of Xavier's and I simply can't sacrifice her life so that you may enjoy a month or two of happiness. Please leave the grounds and do not try to contact either of us again"

The man growled, "_I...love...her_ you idiot, what part of that don't you understand? It ain't a one night thin', it's permanent and if I leave I'm takin' her with me"

"No" he sighed sadly, "You're not, nor will you ever be able to succeed in abducting her from here. I _am_ sorry Wolverine, but you shan't have her"

And with that he concentrated his telekinesis on several key areas within Wolverine's brain, snapping the connections and effectively killing the man for as long as possible. Scott Summers entered the room just as he fell to his knees, blood pouring from his nose as he seized and collapsed on the floor. He stared at his enemy in shock before looking to his mentor for explanation,

"It appears Jean was correct, unfortunately Logan did have unhealthy desires and plans for Rogue, I am afraid I must ask that you take him to the Blackbird, set a co-ordinate for the farthest piece of land you can reach sub-orbital and take him there, depositing him with only the clothing on his back- and pray that will forestall him long enough for us to plan a second move"

Scott nodded; noting that the infamous healing factor had yet to kick in, clearly the Professor was blocking it for as long as possible.

"What do we tell Rogue?"

"How about…that her dear friend has returned to Canada for another search for his past and has promised to call her soon?"

Scott bend down and wrapped an arm about the Canadian's back, struggling to return to his feet as he lifted him up, "You don't think she'll figure out something's up?"

"I doubt it…and would she believe what we were capable of even if we sat down and told her? I know I don't"

He waited until Scott had left, straining his ears until the sound of the jet was long gone. Then he allowed himself to be consumed with doubt, with worry that he had gone too far, had been too quick to assume the man was lying and had planned to bed Rogue as soon as he was able, but he weighed it up with logic.

He couldn't risk losing a powerful young woman- a student no less- to the dangerous, consuming passions and desires of love with a man who was half animal.

In the name of God he hoped he wouldn't live to regret this.

A/N- I'm sure many of you may think i overdid Xavier here, but how would you react if you were in charge of a school full of minors and one of them in the sights of a man you couldn't trust? Plus Evil Xavier is necessary for story.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N- Evil Charles/Good Magneto

2006

Magneto opened his bruised eyes, moaning at the pains throughout his battered body. Everyday reminded him of the sufferings he had sworn never again to endure, everyday reminded him of his foolish dependency on his powers and everyday reminded him that he was far from the element that his powers relied on.

Three years.

One thousand and ninety two days of humiliation and agony. What he hadn't been forced to endure among the hundreds at Auschwitz, he was being forced to endure alone. Suspended in a plastic prison surrounded on all sides by exactly three hundred metres of empty space and one exit, accessed only by a detachable plastic tunnel that he would never travel through.

Nor would anyone who believed in justice for all. Otherwise, his guard would never have been allowed to beat him so savagely, to starve him or subject him to days of never ending lights and loud screeching played over the speakers.

But…the sounds that were reaching him now weren't coming from the speakers…

Repeated pattering that grew louder, heavy thuds, a long silence.

Too long a silence.

Death was approaching, in the form of at least three men.

Or one mutant.

One mutant that blasted down the heavy duty doors that were the edge of Magneto's new world and then quickly took care of the skeleton security crew. It wasn't much of a fight, but there had been the reasoning that if hostile forces made it that far into the security base, they had already won.

For several minutes through squinting eyes Magneto simply laid there, watching the ever-familiar silhouette move around the antechamber beyond the one exit, knowing whom it could be but determined to believe otherwise for if he was right…

He would be descending into insanity.

Or something far worse.

He wrinkled his nose, his olfactory system recognizing a coppery, bittersweet smell, his mouth watering as it gathered at the back of his throat. Despite his age and his bruised, beaten and possibly fractured bones he sat up and rose gracefully to his feet, his shoulders straightening as he rediscovered his aristocratic bearing. He stepped to the edge of his plastic prison and lifted his chin…

In response a canvas bag hit the floor with a dull thud, betraying a heavy load, tipping over the contents spilled out.

Magneto nearly wept at the treasures.

Bullets, guns, grenade pins, switchblades, cutlery, car exteriors…

Metal.

All _metal_.

Intoxicated by the return to his element he closed his eyes and flexed his fingers, summoning it through the closed plastic doors, shredding them in the process. It levitated across the vast space; numerous alarms sounding at the detectors sensed the illicite object, though anyone whom had been stationed to answer the alarms was possibly long dead. Pausing in his ministrations, he held his hand, bringing the objects to a halt a hand span from his prison. Focusing on each separate possession, he manipulated the molecules, heating the metal and bringing it together to merge it into one small platform and several large shells that would eradicate anything that stood in his path.

Presuming there was anything left to stand.

The prison wall shattered as the shells danced through the pitiful material. Stepping past the falling shards, Magneto stepped onto the platform, ignoring an instinctive sense of vertigo that came with the knowledge that it was one piece of metal between him and a three hundred metre drop to his death. His shook it off with the certainty in the element and his abilities, moving himself slowly across the distance, there seemed to be no hurry. His rescuer stood waiting patiently, his soldiers stance relaxed slightly, suggesting that there was no immediate threat, he did however give a grunt of relief as the prisoner stepped onto more reliable ground, clearly not having the same faith in flimsy scraps.

Magneto gave the bodies littered across the floor a careless glance, noting with satisfaction that his guard's death was slow in approaching, the man was suffering every step to the end slowly, already beyond saving.

He turned back to his liberator, "Shall we?"

Another grunt and together they left, Magneto keeping a symbolic step behind, not to show deference but to shift all liability to the man in front of him. Need be, he would be able to claim coercion, though between this killing machine and the human government who had locked him up…he knew whom he'd willingly choose.

They didn't meet any resistance, aside from the bodies they had to step over and some of the building that had been blown apart, revealing large chunks where one could see the clear night sky or look into the rich, brown earth.

The killing had been quick and methodical, not leaving any chance of alarms being raised or outside help being summoned. Impressed Magneto unwittingly quickened his pace as he saw the exit ahead, striding out into his first night in three years, his first breath of fresh, chemical free air. He pushed his prison shoes into the hard dirt, savouring the texture. Raising his head, he looked ahead to where the escape route became painstakingly obvious. A black-ops helicopter.

Unregistered, unmarked and barely visible against the night, it had both the advantage of being undetectable by radar and certain to cause trouble within the government when they discovered its absence and the purpose for which it had been acquired.

Hoisting himself into the passenger seat of the helicopter, he buckled himself in and nodded to the amateur pilot. Once in the air he permitted himself a smile of triumph, and felt his muscles relax slightly, he hadn't allowed himself to hope until the last minute that the escape would go smoothly. He shifted away from the edge and looked over the dark landscape, noting they were heading north, curious he looked back to the pilot. The helicopter engines were surprisingly quiet, presumably having been designed with that advantage in mind,

"Might I enquire as to our destination?" he asked politely,

"Your base in Alberta, found it last week. Still functioning"

"Hmmm" Settling back into his seat, he clenched his fist, noticing a long bar of metal, he had unconsciously morphed it into an easily transportable item...

* * *

He must have dozed; his body was worn out from his maltreatment. He opened his eyes as the copter made a jerky landing into the snow. Taking a deep breath to brace himself for the cold he climbed out and looked around him.

The sun was just beginning to light the horizon, casting the world in a near useless grey, almost as bad as the night. Rotating in a full circle, he tried to gather his co-ordinates, however nothing in the nameless forest called to him. In the past, it had been Mystique's job to map known landmarks throughout all approachable directions within a mile to the bases, allowing any mutant who had made it that far to locate the entrance. So while Magneto had familiarised himself with the areas surrounding his bases, he wasn't able-to a twig- figure out which way to go.

His liberator did though, he didn't summon him with any words, just started navigating his way down the hill, leaving the helicopter without camouflage, Magneto hesitated, caught between dismantling the equipment or not. Perhaps they would require it later.

Ten minutes of following a much younger, more robust man through the icy world and Magneto was thoroughly frozen, even his European heritage and survival blood didn't stop him from considering asking for a rest. His pride did though, Mystique had never seen him falter from age, and neither would this half-stranger.

He disappeared suddenly and, worried that he had lost him, Magneto sped up, only to find himself staring at the hatch leading to his base.

Apparently, Mystique had failed him in this one scouting aspect.

* * *

It took an hour to settle himself in, to use the washing facilities and change into the clothes he always kept in abundance. It felt heavenly to be wearing Armani again, to have a gold watch on his wrist and able to cover the disgusting tattoo on his forearm, the one the first government had dug into his skin and the second government had ensured he looked at everyday of his imprisonment. Squaring his shoulders he strode out into the main room of the labyrinth base, it held an elongated round table surrounded by dozens of chairs, all metal.

Wondrous metal.

"Have you eaten?" Magneto asked cordially, the look he received in return suggested that his guest wanted to tell him where to stick his meal.

"Well" using his powers to pull out a chair directly across the table from the man, he sat down,

"Assuming we have time for talk…may I ask why you chose to save me _Wolverine_?"

"You had any visits from Xavier over the last eight hundred days?"

Two and a half years, Magneto calculated, noting the similarity in he and Wolverine's measurement of time.

"Yes, several"

"Any mention of me?"

"No" he folded his hands on the table, "Why?"

The story he was told was fantastical, almost as incomprehensible to him as his survival of Auschwitz was to others.

_Waking up in the middle of a desert in the Middle East, with nothing more than his clothes, blood soaked and otherwise soiled. Following the sun for weeks on end, his healing factor not able to grant him reprieve from the starvation and dehydration. Driven half-mad, he had stumbled onto a rebel force, he didn't speak their language but he hadn't needed too, he had taken food, water and a horse from them, albeit they had relinquished unwillingly. Then, following the directions of a frightened man, had reached a small village terrorized by a local militia, he had killed them easily and in sacking them had found a half dilapidated car, which he had driven to a major city. There he had lingered for close to six months, without any papers or legal documents to prove his existence and no reports of his absence back home, he was unable to leave the country. Eventually he had managed a long distance call to an old ex-KGB friend of his; Ziv had arranged him a route to Russia via several countries and on several different modes of transport, with several semi-illicit goods. In Russia he had stayed with Ziv for four months, both recovering and dipping shallowly into the world of Intelligence, trying to determine whether Xavier had baited several companies after his head with news of his re-emergence. Apparently his sojourn at Xavier's had become known and set Department K chomping at the bit, however SHIELD or Nick Fury anyway had counter-acted any attempt to 'locate' Weapon X. With a fake name and borrowed money Wolverine had smuggled himself back into Canada, then dug up a few of the Brotherhood bases and rescued Magneto._

He finished his story and looked across at the older man,

"Well" he growled, "Out with it"

"Charles Xavier would never…"

"And what would you do if ya had to get rid of me? Put me in a prison? Change the locks? I can't die, nor is there anythin' in existence I know about that can hold me long"

Magneto had to concede that point, and in all fairness if he had needed to dispose of the Wolverine he would most likely have acted in the same way. Throwing him far enough away that by the time he re-surfaced one would, hopefully, have something to keep him back.

But Charles Xavier doing _that_…

"So you rescued me," he noted, "May I ask why…is there a next step or do we part ways here?"

Then a shrug, "Whatever plan you have works with me, you point me at something, I threaten, blackmail, steal or kill it. You win, everybody in this room is happy"

"And what _exactly_ do you want in return?"

Hesitation, uncertainty. Magneto had found a weakness.

"Marie. Xavier's keeping her from me…says he'll never let me see her again…I can't go without…I have to see her again"

"Marie?"

It took him a moment to place the name. Ah yes, the pretty thing he'd attached to his machine, code name- Rogue. Southern, small and, at the time at least, underage.

Magneto filed that piece of information away in his head, speculating that he might have found another piece to the puzzle that was Charles Xavier's inhuman action.

"Have you thought of trying to reach her from the mansion, contact her in any way?"

A twitch of the head suggested that Wolverine had left _another_ chapter from his story, Magneto pressed on, not wanting to lose his offer but needing as much information regarding the girl as he could get.

"And you desire only Rogue, a _ward_ of Xavier's?"

"She's _mine_, mine, Xavier kept her from me, mine, my darlin' Marie, my darlin', my precious…"

Only by the widening of his eyes did Magneto betray his fear, the overdue realization reaching him. Whether it had been the implausible action of Xavier, a man Wolverine had trusted with his little charge, or the weeks of suffering in the desert, or the months spent trying to return to his homeland, perhaps even the things that had been withheld from him…

Wolverine's mind, an over fragile fraying thread to begin with, had snapped.

Perhaps irrevocably.

So what had started out as a simple desire, a crush maybe on a young woman had turned into a consuming yearning, an ambition, the fulfilling of which, might be the one thing keeping the man coherent and functioning, however brokenly.

And the perfect weapon for Magneto's own goals.

"Very well, no harm shall come to her from our side. I give you my absolute word on that. In addition, the moment she is in your possession, I will relieve you of your warfare duties as my second-in-command, until such time as you wish to resume them"

Or resume some form of sanity, he mused.

"Deal"


	5. Chapter 5

2008

"Rogue!"

Instinctively she stopped, looking around her wildly, trying to track the source of the panicked voice.

"Jub…Jubilee?" she called questioningly, crying out as people pushed passed her, jostled she struggled to find her way out of the stream of terrified civilians. Knocked to the sidewalk, she clutched at a lamppost, fighting to stay conscious as the blood trickled down her face.

"Rogue!"

The scream was cut off, as several buildings were set alight, the flames shot sky high, causing several helicopters to change paths to avoid being hit.

More people screamed and tried to flee the oncoming destruction, but it was coming from all sides, fire at one end and gunfire at the other. All they could do was hope to escape the bull rush.

The X-Men had been summoned to D.C. in the hope of saving the capital, they were the last resort.

The army was decimated.

The navy had been drowned.

Intelligence forces were lying dead in their buildings.

In Humanities most desperate hour, they turned to the race who was trying to destroy them.

Trying and succeeding.

Over the last two years, the Brotherhood of Mutants had quietly been gathering support as more and more mutants suffered persecution, as more and more of their rights were taken away. With their recruits came supplies, with their supplies came power.

With their power came action.

It was small at first, experimental. Jailbreaks, attacks on FOH rallies, government buildings being raided.

Then…suddenly…chaos.

A distant, future threat had become the present and broken over the heads of everyday civilians.

Riots, skirmishes fought in suburbs, cities ransacked and razed to the ground. People mown down for no other reason than being human or in the way of the Brotherhood.

The X-Men had been overwhelmed.

But that hadn't stopped them.

Every time they received a cry for help, they answered, every time they received an offer of allegiance, they took it, every time a city fell and they lost more ground, they kept fighting.

It was a loosing battle. They knew that. Slowly, like the poison they sometimes spread throughout the soil, the Brotherhood conquered city after city, town after town, state after state. Doing what had never been done in the United States of America before, til only D.C. and the X-Men were left standing.

A ghostly remnant of all it had once been.

"Rogue"

She gave a sob of relief as a familiar face darted between the screaming, half mad citizens. "Oh Jubes, thank God!" she wrapped her arms around her friend, leaning against her as she suddenly felt the exhaustion she had been holding back for the last seventy-two hours. Jubilation Lee pulled back, stroking the loose white strands from her face, "You okay babe?"

She nodded, grasping her friends hand like a lifeline.

"We have to get these people outta here!"

Jubilee shook her head, "Nothing more we can do, the Professor wants us back at camp"

She frowned, certain that it was the noise around her. The beating of the helicopters, the buildings collapsing, the fires growing, the people screaming, dying as the weapons took them down. Certain all that noise had confused her, that Jubilee hadn't just said that, perhaps her head trauma…

"But all these people…" she shouted, her throat sore as she breathed in smoke, Jubilee shook her head, "We have to regroup, come on!"

Her nails digging into her skin, Jubilee began pulling her out, around the crowd, through the people. Towards the flames. She shook her head, her vision blurring,

"Jubilee" her voice was slurring and suddenly she was so _tired_, "Jubes…camps…other way"

"No babe, this way" the younger girl was tugging her, pulling her north, up the streets, the streets void of people, all the people had been heading south.

"No" she tried again, tried to dig her feet into the ground, tried to brush the steady trickling of blood from her forehead. "No, no north is…"

What was north exactly? Other than a direction? It was important; there was something important that she had to remember. Something was wrong, other than the world ending around her; she'd faced that for months on end now, no something else, something very immediate.

"Babe, we have to get back to the X-Men" Jubilee was panicking now,

"Quickly before the Brotherhood finds us"

"Babe" she whispered to herself, her walk slowing to a crawl, her legs struggling to hold her up, "_babe_?"

"_Hey chica" Marie opened her eyes as something heavy landed on her bed, _

"_Happy Twenty-first birthday girlfriend!"_

_She laughed with wonder at the never-ending stream of cheerfulness that came from her best friend,_

"_Thanks Jubilee"_

"_Any year chica"_

"Oh" realisation hit her and she looked around wildly, seeing nothing but a blur of orange flames, "You're not…you're not"

"Damn, what did I get wrong? The hair? The clothes?"

Before her, the figure she knew so well. The five ft four, olive skinned, small figured Asian girl, morphed into a six-ft, well endowed woman with bright red hair and blue skin.

Mystique.

"Doesn't matter of course," the woman continued, pulling back her hand and dealing her with a sharp slap before she had time to react, "Cause you're dead anyway"

The previous head trauma and the slap caused her to fall to her knees, swaying in the empty street, sweating profusely as the flames drew nearer. Struggling to stay awake, to stay conscious, to stay alive. She tried to summon her power to her, but she had drained all her resources over the last three days without sleep, food, water or any reprieve. Her powers hummed uselessly in her veins and then sunk once more, she could only raise her head and stare at her attacker as she loaded her gun.

"…don't see what has him so obsessed with you anyway, nothing but a body that could be bought in any small down in a bakers dozen for a nickel. Suppose it doesn't matter either way, once you're found with a bullet in your head, he's gonna go mental and I'll be Magneto's favourite again"

She flinched as the metal was pressed to her temple, and tried weakly to move her pounding head, "Almost a shame I don't have time to violate you though, I would have loved giving your body a test dri…"

Violate.

Vio…late

Mystique wanted to…

_Violate._

"No!" Marie screamed, reaching out blindly and grabbing at skin, her powers surging to the surface and leaping into the mutant woman's body.

Images, memories, _life_ raced into her. Overwhelming her and not being enough at the same time. Unable to focus, to find the switch as she had done thousands of times before she held on for too long.

A scream rent the air and broke into a gargle, and suddenly nothing more was pouring into Marie,

No memories, no powers, no life force.

She felt her arm being pulled down and followed it with her eyesight, drawing a ragged breath when she saw the woman before her.

Mystique lay twitching in a rapidly spreading pool of her own blood. Three deep lines from her right shoulder down to her left hip, through which Marie could see the asphalt beneath.

Yanking her hand away she felt her stomach churning, and turning her face away, vomited onto the road, sickened by the gaping, bubbling wound in her enemy's chest.

Marie was crying now, exhausted, confused, sore, she rocked back and forth, wishing it would all go away.

Hands gripped her shoulders, a body against hers, arms around her back, chin on her head, a neck in her vision, strong muscled chest.

Warmth, security.

"Shhh" the deep, rough voice soothed, "You're safe now"

She buried her face in his neck and wet his skin with her tears, clutching his once white t-shirt, tangling the fabric in her fingers.

"She wanted to hurt me" she sobbed, "I…she said she was gonna…vi…"

"She can't hurt you now, you're safe" the hand stroked her hair, keeping her face pressed against his neckline, she felt his rapid pulse beating a tattoo against her eyelid and his heart drumming against her right breast.

"I'm so tired" she sighed, moving her arms to wrap them around his stomach for comfort; she yawned and snuggled deeper against him, closing her eyes.

"You'll have to stay conscious darlin'" the voice begged, "You can't sleep"

"But I wanna!" she moaned, annoyed that her one desire was being refused,

"It'll only be for a minute," she promised.

"No, if you fall asleep I'll have to leave you here"

"Fine" she was tired enough to sleep on the pavement, and the fires wouldn't get to her. She'd only be asleep for a minute.

"Please darlin', I can't carry you I'm too weak for that, please Marie you'll have to walk"

Marie?

"How…" she swallowed, attempting to bring moisture to her mouth, "How d'you know my…"

Lifting her head, she tilted it, trying to take in all of the man's face, he was so close to her. All of a sudden, lips were on hers, pressing against them roughly, a tongue forced them apart and clashed with her own. Eyes instinctively closing, she shivered and struggled weakly as he gripped her body tightly to his, his callused hands ripped at her X-suit and tore her bra fondling her breasts.

Violate.

"No…" she cried, "No…please"

He pulled away, gasping for breath. "I'm sorry"

"You're not supposed to do that so soon after I've used my powers," she complained, wiping her nose on the cuff of her sleeve, "And I've been sick!"

She felt naked and when a fiery wind gathered, it lashed at her still exposed nipples, trying to modestly cover herself with her torn bra and redo her uniform; she jumped as he reached out and removing her bra, zipped up her suit.

"Thank-you" she mumbled, her vision growing dark once again, "Can I sleep now?"

A resigned sigh, "Yeah darlin', you can"

"Will you be here when I wake up?" she was blind now,

"No I have to…I can't be here…but I'll make sure the X-Men find you"

"Which part of the camp are you staying in? I'll come see you"

His hand was gentle now as it ruffled her hair, "Sleep well my love"

A kiss to her forehead was the last thing she remembered.

* * *

"_Rogue"_

"_Rogue can you here me?"_

Five more minutes please, she requested politely, receiving a warm laugh in return.

"She's going to be fine, Scott"

"Oh thank-god"

"Rogue? Come on chica show me those lovely green eyes"

The voices sounded distant; sluggish she obliged the order and looked around her, trying to focus the blurs. Her head felt tight and her hair weighed down, she tried to reach it but couldn't move her arm. Panic coursed through her,

"What's goin' on? Where am I?"

She tried to sit up but couldn't summon the strength. She cried out in fear,

"Hush Rogue, you're in the hospital. You sustained head trauma and lost a lot of blood, actually it wasn't as bad as we first believed, for the size of the shrapnel piercing your skull, that you're alive is…"

"Prof, what the hell are you doin' scaring my girl when she's just woken up?! Jesus, let her rest a while before telling her she should be dead!"

"Dead!" despite the lethargy she shot up into a sitting position, her eyesight clearing and seeing her team-mates about her, "What'ya mean dead?!"

"Rogue, I assure you my dear, you are absolutely fine" that assurance came in the educated timbre of Dr Hank McCoy, "I operated on you myself"

"Operated, Christ!"

"Hank, maybe we should up the dosage until she's feeling better"

She scowled, "Summers don't you bloody dare"

Giggling, Jubilee leant over and kissed her on the cheek, "Don't worry chica you're gonna be fine…enjoy the high"

"Jubilee"

"What Prof? That's essentially what you're doin' doping my girl up- and I know you tampered with her mind before"

"_What?!_"

"Rogue, I had to remove Mystique's life force from you, it was so strong you were morphing on the operating table"

She was desperate now, "Will somebody please tell me what happened?"

She looked over to Scott as he inhaled sharply, "Rogue…"

"Scott" Xavier interrupted sharply, "Not now"

He continued anyway, "What do you remember?"

She frowned, "I…someone was with me…I remember, he carried me a little while and lay me down somewhere cold…away from the fires…Logan kept me safe"

"Hank-the morphine" Xavier barked, she ignored him.

"I just remember…I must have absorbed a bit of him, cause my stomach felt better after that"

She remembered a swirl of emotions, dozens of them, all fading now, all but one.

Fear.

Loathing.

Satisfaction.

Joy.

Despair.

Love.

The last one stayed with her as she sunk back into unconsciousness, holding her tight and keeping her secure, ensuring that she would be safe from her nightmares.

_Love_


	6. Chapter 6

A/N- Short chapter

* * *

2010- Present Day

"And where have you been?"

The warm voice brought Scott back to the present as he ducked under the khaki tent flap, his bones chilled, he looked to the portable heater in the centre of the sparse room, seeking warmth, "Nowhere"

"Oh my, all this secrecy and such a mundane answer. Really dear you must let me teach you how to lie properly"

"Why?" Scott smirked, adjusting his glasses, trying to feign nonchalance,

"You lie enough for the both of us"

"Touche"

Holding his trembling hands over the heat, he kept his back to his partner, hoping she would live up to her infamous reputation and leave him be.

No such luck.

"Scott," he heard her moving across the compact space and felt something heavy land on his shoulders, immediately he felt his body relax. The woollen blanket was surprisingly warm, chasing away the chill on the upper half of his body.

"Come to bed darling," she murmured, "I've kept it nice and warm for you"

Compliant he let her lead him to the cot, his suit seeming to melt away at her touch, sliding between the sheets he sighed luxuriously. The bed had obviously seen a heating pan, and he noticed an extra blanket or two, probably the result of his girlfriend's black market trading. He stretched out an arm and a moment later was rewarded with her body slipping into his embrace- also sans clothing.

She straddled his stomach, propping herself up with an arm either side of his head, she bent down and kissed the corner of his mouth, beginning a path of butterfly kisses that trailed the side of his neck, down his sculpted chest, over his stomach where she lingered for an unjustly torturous amount of time, dipping her tongue into his belly button and-finally- he felt her lips brush the hairs of his genitals. His hips arched with desire and he felt the blood rushing to his cock, her breathy chuckle tickled the sensitive skin and he raised his hips higher towards her lips, silently begging her for the pleasure. As always she took her sweet time, lifting her cobalt blue eyes to meet his gaze she pouted her baby pink lips, "Come on Scott" she crooned, "Harder"

Groaning with lust he unwittingly obeyed her, his cock straining to full erection, her response was a laugh of child-like delight,

"Thank-you"

Parting her lips she ran her tongue across them, breaking his gaze to study the hardened manhood before her, stretching her mouth a little wider she kissed the tip, before sliding her head down to swallow the rest.

Her tongue rolled around the base before sliding up to the tip and back down again, her hands massaging his balls.

Scott had one hand clutching the sheets beneath him; with the other he reached down and tangled his hands into the golden locks shielding the experience from his eager eyes. His hand was strong and controlled her movements, making the long, drawn out motions faster as he began to reach the edge. Sensing this, his love sent images running through his mind.

Their first kiss.

Their first fuck.

All the foreplay they'd lavished on each other. All the hot sex they'd had whenever she'd cast a lustful teasing thought his way.

Those _beautiful_ cobalt blue eyes.

He came with a cry, spilling his hot seed into her mouth, she gave a purr of pleasure and releasing his cock with a satisfying smack of her lips, notably swallowed his cum, grinning happily. He found himself matching the grin,

"Get over here"

"Hmm?" on her hands and knees she scaled his body, feigning a look of innocence,

"Yes dear?"

Wrapping an arm around her back he pulled her down atop him, kissing her fiercely, pushing her hair out of the way as it curtained them into their own private world. He tasted himself on her lips and rolled her onto her back, enjoying the feeling of her long, tanned, curvaceous body beneath him. He slid his hands down to her thighs, parting them and wrapping her legs around his back, the blankets slid down to his lower back but he didn't care, he had enough to keep him warm. One hand rested across her left breast, teasing the nipple until it hardened, while the other reached up, under the pillow, to where they always kept condoms.

Though he could feel her arousal, wet and ready against his stomach, hard and eager against his chest, she broke their kiss,

"You're tired dear" she murmured, knowing him too well. But he didn't care at the moment, he shook his head and trailed his lips down to her neck. She rolled her eyes and activating her TK, turned him onto his back and settled herself across his chest,

He groaned, "You know I hate it when you do that"

"You're tired Scott, and you have an early rise tomorrow"

"And I hate it when you say that, you make me sound old"

She yawned and kitten scratched his chest, running her manicured nails in circles, "You are old dear, you're forty-one, that's ten years on me"

"And you Emma Frost are a bitch"

"You knew that when you met me Summers, yet you still asked me on that date"

"Best move I ever made"

He kissed her hair lovingly, she snuggled deeper against him, intimately, a sure sign that…

"You and Charles argued again today" she noted too casually, her educated tones becoming clipped. Emma Frost was the only one who called Professor Xavier by his Christian name, both a streak of rebelliousness and an acknowledgement that she equalled and possibly excelled him in her powers of telepathy and telekinesis.

"Yeah" he rolled his shoulders, feeling phantom tension, "We did"

"You and Xavier argue more often than I have hot dinners, and more frequently than we…" she finished by giggling in his ear, he chuckled and rested his hand on her buttocks, "I know…trust me I know"

"And I think…" he sighed and rubbed his hand against her back, seeking the distraction of her smooth flesh. "I think I have a way to end it _all_…possibly by tomorrow…but I'm not sure"

"Hmmm?" she snuggled into his arms, sinking deeper into sleep, "You'll do what's right dear, you always do"

He watched as she fell asleep, cradled in his arms, still contemplating her words.

If he always did what was right,

Then why was he considering this?


	7. Chapter 7

"Mornin' Scott"

She raised her hand to catch Scott Summers attention as he emerged from his tent, his head darted up like a deer in the headlights and the look on his face betrayed his guilt. She faltered and lowered her arm, frowning in concern,

"Scott?" she took a step towards him but he rabbited off before her foot even touched the ground.

"Wha…?!"

"Don't worry chica" Jubilee announced, coming up and slipping an arm through hers, "I'm sure Scottie's just embarrassed"

She turned to the smirking girl, "Bout what?"

"Same thing that interrupted my prayers last night" Kitty called taking her other arm and giving her their habitual morning kiss on the cheek, "Morning Rogue. The one…the only…"

"Emma Frost" she finished, watching as the blonde bombshell danced out of the tent, as graceful as a butterfly. Although butterflies tended to have more colour.

Emma Frost, or the White Witch, was famous for her tendency to wear only white, tight-fitting clothes and not many of them either.

While she, Kitty and Jubilee were dressed in army fatigues, Emma hadn't even bothered, simply sporting white leather pants and tank-top, probably the best on the market.

"Morning girls" the blonde greeted them coolly, "And how are we this morning?"

"Probably more awake then you" she muttered under her breath, causing hysterical giggles from Kitty and Jubilee, clutching one another the three laughed themselves silly under the blazing desert sun.

"Yes" Emma sighed sarcastically, "The disadvantages of having a boyfriend, long lonely nights become a thing of the past…any other questions?"

Subdued the girls looked down for a moment before Kitty raised her hand,

"Yes Katherine?"

Kitty looked down and pointed to the shoes, "How?"

Emma Frost was wearing eight inch, designer stiletto heels, covered in straps and diamantes.

She grinned devilishly, "Another wonderful advantage only a telepath can properly muster- mind over matter, brain over pain. See you around girls"

Kitty still looked utterly bewildered, "How?"

Jubilee just shook her head, "Come on, we'll discuss it over powdered breakfast"

As they neared the mess tent, however, they heard raised voices, two male, raised voices. Neither Kitty nor Jubilee were able to hear it, but with her enhanced auditory senses she was able to distinguish the words,

"…if you used your powers we wouldn't have this trouble!"

"You know I don't believe in entering someone's mind without their permission"

"You know _I know_ that isn't true"

"Xavier" an educated female voice, interrupting, trying to mediate. Though it seemed pointless, the once obvious father-son bond between Charles Xavier and Scott Summers had long since dissolved as bitter rivalry consumed them.

"Scott"

"_Scott!_"

The three girls jumped back as Scott burst from the tent, looking driven by fury and rage, he stopped as he saw them and ran his hands over his face.

"Rogue" his voice was low, dangerous,

"I need to talk to you"

"Uh" she looked to her friends nervously, "Kay, sugah"

"In private"

Beside her Jubilee bristled with indignation, but Kitty slowly released her. Turning on her heel Marie quickly led the way to her shared bunker with the girls, even as she heard Emma Frost trying to call Scott back to the fight.

The girls had pushed their three beds together, in an attempt to make enough space for all of them, they could have each had a tent to themselves, but considering they were in a war zone and not even mid twenties, they had decided they would need the constant company. Rogue was the oldest at twenty-three, and she had already seen too much bloodshed to be ashamed at needing her friends.

Scott was pacing the small space, making a path between the duffel bags, the boots and first aid kits, he seemed agitated.

"I need to tell you something," he admitted suddenly, and sinking to the edge of the bed she nodded encouragement, "But I…I don't know how to say it without scaring you"

"By not sayin' it Scott," she reasoned, "You're scarin' me more"

He chuckled, "Right, first off…what d'you remember bout the Washington retreat?"

"Uh…we were called in by General Trask…our mission was to…"

"No" he interrupted, "What d'you remember about the third night in when you got separated from us and…attacked by Mystique?"

She frowned, "Not much I just remember being picked up by a man I thought was Logan and carried somewhere safe, next thin' I know I woke up to find my head shaved and you guys tellin' me I nearly died"

She finished by running a hand through her hair, it had managed to grow back to her shoulders but was now wilder than ever.

"Right…well you were wrong about the man who saved you"

"I know" she grinned humourlessly, "I thought it was Logan"

"It was"

She froze and stared at Scott, "What?!"

"Logan stopped Mystique from killing you that night and then carried you to safety; he then found me and told me where to find you and what injuries you had sustained"

She shook her head, "No it has to be a mistake…I would remember Logan savin' my life"

"Unless the Professor entered your mind under the pretext of wiping Mystique's life force and instead removed any essence left behind when he healed you that night"

She was still shaking her head, only now her entire body was trembling,

"If that's true than why, why would he do that?"

"The Professor has long since held the belief that he has the right to play God"

"No" she looked up at him, denial still warring with a tiny shard of unacknowledged hope within her.

"Why would Logan save my life? He's the enemy now!"

He stopped pacing, and knelt down before her, "Rogue. He's the enemy of humankind, he's the enemy of the X-Men, but I don't believe for a second that he's ever been your enemy"

"I am…" she started to argue her membership of the team but broke off, sorting her priorities,

"Scott, please…tell me what's goin' on!"

He took a deep breath and after obviously deliberating as to how to position himself, opted for sitting on the bed beside her, she tried to look into his face but he turned it away from her.

"Rogue, all I know I gathered from Xavier and the Wolverine's actions…I never spoke with the man on the matter myself, and the Professor has steadfastly refused to tell me anything…he even went so far as to try and wipe the information from my mind. Thankfully, a lifetime of dating telepaths means I have strong mental shields, almost as good as yours. Anyhow…Jesus, how do I tell you this?"

"Scott" She shot to her feet, "For Christs' sake!"

"He _wants_ you Rogue, that's why he fighting with Magneto, cause Magneto promised him that, in the end, he'd get you"

The words seemed foreign to her, for several moments she simply stood over her leader, blinking rapidly, waiting for the important revelation, only to realise she had been told it.

The Wolverine wanted her. The Immortal Warrior. The infamous bringer of destruction and death. The secret behind Magneto's success, the reason the X-Men had their backs to the walls, fighting tooth and nail for every inch of ground, the man ultimately behind the death of her first and only boyfriend.

"All Logan did…" she spluttered, sinking unconsciously to her bed, as her feet no longer supported her, "It…it was all…"

"Yes" Scott reached over and took her hands,

"Professor Xavier has sworn never to let him…he didn't think it would be wise for you and Wolve…Logan to be in a relationship"

"Boy was he wrong," she said without thinking, a smile quirking at her lips,

"Think that can go down in the history books with the worst mistakes ever made…right next to the idiots who let Hitler get power…although that was genocide…Magneto may have originally planned genocide but I think even _he_ managed to see the comparison after a while…everyone's agreed that he's more of the world domination sort now" she realised she was rambling but couldn't help it. A terror was rising in her and pushing her towards hysteria as the key events over the last six years sprang to mind.

The battles, the wounds, the deaths. The innocent bystanders, some of whom had never even seen a mutant let alone held a grudge against them.

All those people.

All those lives.

All that _waste_.

She was still talking, was she still talking? Scott was cupping her face in his hands, stroking her soothingly.

"Shush Rogue…Rogue it's alright"

"No…_fucking hell_ no it's not" And with that she was crying, heart-felt sobs that wracked her body and reduced her to a wet, snotty mess.

"Dammit Scott, Jean's dead! Jean and Nimrod and Gambit and John, Storm and Bobby. They're all dead and I could have prevented it…if I had just…I never questioned his leavin' I should have known…I should have gone with him…"

Her tears stopped as shudders wracked her body, Scott continued to hold her and kiss her hair comfortingly but he no longer spoke and she could see the distance with which he suddenly did everything. "That's why you're here isn't it?" she whispered, trying to swallow and finding her mouth dry, "You want me to…to…_give_ myself to him!"

Horrified Rogue jumped to her feet and put as much space between them as the small tent allowed, running her hands through her wild hair. Scott got up also but remained calm, "Rogue, I understand that this frightens you, but this is your chance to stop the war…"

"So how will it work exactly?" she interrupted savagely, "Will it be straight out prostitution? If I sleep with him once, will he stop fightin' permanently? Will I have to do it on a regular basis to keep him off the battlefield? If I'm _good_ enough at it will he come back over to the X-Men? Perhaps I should be goin' to your whore for tips…"

"Jean was pregnant"

Her monologue of mockery died on her lips, she stared at her leader stunned,

"_What_?!"

"Yeah, that's why she wasn't in Nigeria with the rest of us, because she was a month with child and I wanted her to stay in Scotland. A _month_ Marie, one month! Four weeks where I had a tiny glow of hope in my heart and a reason to believe in the future. Thirty-one days of baby names running through my head as I tried to convince her to tell me the sex of our child. She knew the second our child took life inside her and she told me…and I got to relive that, as they dragged her crushed body from the wreckage of that lab. Curled up in foetal position to try to save the life inside her, the life that had only had thirty-one days and one _minute_ after Jean died"

They were both crying now, Scott knuckled his tears from his eyes, ripping off his glasses quickly to do so. "So Rogue I _am_ asking you to do this, so that the fighting can stop for maybe a day, an hour or a _month_. So that no more men have to return home to find the bodies of their pregnant wives being dragged from the rubble, so no more parents have to bury their children, so no more children have to grow up in a world without family. Please..." he didn't know how to finish, how to convince a terrified girl to sacrifice herself

She opened her mouth a few times before she could speak, "How…_long_ have I got to decide?"

He looked down, "Midnight"

"Tonight!" she cried stunned, Scott nodded looking slightly ashamed,

"He doesn't trust me; he reckons it's a trap"

"It'd be a good one, our entire team could completely ambush him, maybe take him out for a day"

"Or he could have soldiers waiting for us"

Stepping around her to the tent's entrance he paused and reached out, catching her hair, tugging it affectionately. It reminded her of Logan, how he'd used to tug on her white strands in greeting or in passing.

"I'm sorry"


	8. Chapter 8

A/N- Thank-you for your reviews. I'm introducing a lot of characters not in the movie. and none of whom i own, to give myself more artistic licence. Morph is now a stereotypical colloquial occa aussie, yes they do exist! albeit mainly up in our drought ridden northern territory.

"Impossible"

The word was softly spoken, as all words that were emitted by this man were, but even so, the power behind it, the unquestioned authority had everyone in the room focusing on him, waiting for his next opinion.

None more so than the warrior before him, adorned only in bomber jacket and over worn jeans, but looking no less powerful. They were the focal points in the room, the eyes of the audience darting between the two like a tennis match.

Except tennis matches didn't provide the alluring threat of bloodshed and murder.

"That's what he offered" was the reply, "He gave me his word"

"Yes" the older of the two shifted in his seat, clearly too stunned by the announcement to retain his regal posture, "Well, as much as I would like to hope that his word is worth its weight in gold…there remains the fact that it's not his place to offer. We will have to await her acceptance of the proposal before we can plan for the next step"

A ploy for time, the spectator mused; he's more surprised than he's willing to admit. Pissed too, if this goes ahead he's losing his best warrior.

She readjusted herself, crossing her legs and propping her chin on a long, delicate finger, her deep brown eyes scanning the faces of the two other audience members.

Her twin Pietro Maximoff and Kevin Sydney.

Quicksilver and Morph.

Pietro sat opposite her, on one of the benches that ran against all four sides of the room, matching her posture, watching the spectacle with feigned interest. However, his mouth was quirking in a cruel twist of a grin and the way he watched her suggested there would be a taunting following this meeting.

Purposefully turning her gaze, she studied the other man, he leant beside the door, his stance relaxed but not fooling her. She knew that if anything happened, anything to give him even the slightest impression of a threat against Wolverine. The man would attack the perpetrator and he wouldn't be doing it to wound. Such loyalty she usually considered foolish, however she knew that the Wolverine reciprocated such feelings for his friend, so in their case it was advantageous.

"I'm meeting them at the border at midnight"

"Tonight!" Kevin blurted in shock, "Jesus mate, if she turns up I'll personally wander into the X-Men camp and commend them on their bravery"

He received four sets of raised eyebrows in return for his comment, he shrugged guiltily, "What?! We're all thinkin' it, two days or less ain't enough time for the little Sheila to make up her mind"

"Colloquial though your statement is…" Magneto began, regaining the floor, "I must say I have to agree, it may take days or even months for an agreement to the benefit and satisfaction of both groups to be reached. Keeping in mind of course that Rogue herself may also need time for transition, she will be complying with a _great_ deal"

Wolverine was shaking his head, "She comes with me, I stop fighting. We agreed to that when I got you outta prison"

"That we did" Magneto allowed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "But Wolverine perhaps we should greater define the terms, maybe allow two or three days to organize a less fluid contract…"

"She's comin' tonight!" Wolverine interrupted, a dangerous edge to his voice, hearing this, the audience mentally prepared themselves, ready to leap between the two mutants in case a fight broke out.

"You hope she's arriving tonight, Wolverine, you have no proof"

But clearly he didn't want to hear logic. He was shaking his head, "She'll be here tonight" he ascertained before turning on his heel and striding to the door, though Magneto wasn't finished, he began to rise from his chair.

"And if she isn't?" he demanded, "Wolverine you've waited six years for her, what's another month?"

He received no response; the duo had already disappeared round the corner. Sighing he sank back into his chair, Pietro and Wanda rose without question to attend to him,

"Do think it will happen?" she couldn't resist asking. Knowing as she did so that Pietro was silently laughing at her, Magneto shrugged,

"Truthfully, I don't know, the X-Men are desperate to be sure. However, I don't believe Xavier capable of such an act, though the man has done many things I cannot believe"

"It could be a trap of course" Pietro supplied,

"Oh yes, quite easily. It would be difficult to plan a trap for the Wolverine though, assuming of course that one succeeded, there would still be the trouble of keeping Rogue from him. Despite the occasional…public slip, Wolverine still has the appearance and manner of a sane man, were he to tell his side of the story, it could cast some doubt into the minds of the X-Men. No I do not believe Charles would risk a trap"

He lapsed into quiet musings and with a flicker of his fingers, dismissed them both; they hurried from the room to the large corridor that was the access point to the entire makeshift barracks. They weren't even ten steps from the War room when Pietro started his mockery, "Well, well, well. Looks like your hopes and dreams have crashed and burned after all dear sister"

Wanda rolled her eyes, "What _are_ you talking about Pietro?"

He grinned, 'The fact that the man you care so…_deeply_ about, is going to have his one true love in his arms by tomorrow morning. All your hard work's being undone"

She scoffed, "You're assuming that the X-Men are going to go through with this deal"

He shrugged, "You heard our father, and they have everything to gain from this. Imagine a battle without the Wolverine, our troops moral will take a blow once they realize he no longer fights for us"

"He's not going away brother," she argued heatedly, turning on the man, he laughed,

"But dear sister, why fight when you can fuck?"

Crying out in disgust, she stormed away from him, running down the hall, away from the sound of his laughter. With his accelerated speed, he flew past her, leaving her alone in the cavernous space. For a moment, she was an unreceptive statue, and then her face registered her distress. Pietro was more correct then she wanted to admit, and her father's words had troubled her.

Wanda didn't believe the Wolverine was insane.

He couldn't be. Not when he was so quiet, so brave…so…so _beautiful_.

That word was usually used to describe women but something in the way he moved, his predatory grace, the way he was taller than he appeared, his easy leadership of the soldiers. Her feet had led her wandering and she had trailed past the passageway that led to his bedroom, she sighed with desire. How many nights had she imagined herself in that little room, in his bed, holding him in her naked arms?

And now, now the enemy…an X-Man was going to undo all her years of worship, her endless hours spent watching perfection as he trained with the troops, her kind words to him when the pain in his eyes was too much to take. Another woman…more a girl from what she had heard, was going to breeze into her father's power hold and take his second-in-command from her.

And what could she do about it?

Make it bloody difficult for her-that's what.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N- Why the hell dont the lines work anymore?

Whether or not it was official, she had been relieved of her duties for the day. When she had been halfway to the exercise yard, Emma Frost had intercepted her under the excuse of needing to watch men get hot and sweaty. Okay, that could simply be coincidence, it wasn't the first time Emma had taken the other girls places so she could enjoy the show. The timing of it however, it had her shaken.

Midnight.

She only had til midnight to decide.

Fourteen hours.

She had to get outta there.

She was the army equivalent of a colonel, so she had all access pass round the general areas, including the transports. Snatching a jeep and barely stopping to sign herself out, she hit the gas and sped down the dusty road.

She needed to loose herself for a while, to empty her mind and hope she could figure out her next move.

Only where should she go?

There was a refugee camp nearby; civilians that had been displaced by the war were gathered there in a shantytown.

People she knew, people she had befriended, that she ate dinner with and whose children she read bedtime stories.

_Will Wolverine expect me to have his kids?_

She hit the brakes, slamming down the handbrake and stalling the car. Taking a breath and-feeling relief that there were no other cars on the lone road- she looked around her. Dusty, barren desert.

It'd do.

Restarting the engine, she sped the car off the road and drove towards the horizon, doing her best to ensure she didn't drive over anything she wouldn't be able to get back out of. After ten minutes, she stopped and clambered out, her feet hitting the cracked earth with a satisfying thud.

There was something wonderful about the isolation of the desert. Wandering randomly until she could ignore the vehicles presence she stretched out her arms and pressing hard against the ground, lifted herself three feet into the air and spun quickly.

Round and round, everything becoming a blur of mixtures of red and blue.

Faster and faster until her body instinctively stopped and she fell heavily, collapsing on her legs.

Gasping she lay back, spread-eagled and stared up at the sky. Her brain whirled around a little while longer but then she found it empty and began the painful process of weighing up her situation.

Over the last six years Magneto's army had spread like a plague throughout the United States of America, effectively cutting it off from the rest of the world and bringing about anarchy until the only solution was to hand control of many of the states over to him. Magneto's army had attacked Xavier's school for gifted youngsters and burned it to the ground, capturing many of the students and holding them ransom.

Magneto had destroyed everything she had known and believed in.

Wolverine was the key behind his rule.

And Wolverine wanted her.

He wanted _her_

_He_ wanted her

He _wanted_ her.

Scott had said that if she went with him. That if she gave herself to him, he would stop fighting. Thereby removing an essential part of Magneto's battle plan, perhaps even giving the X-Men a fighting chance.

But who was Wolverine?

She thought she had known once, had believed him to be a good man, a hero, _her_ hero. He'd been a knight in shining armour to her, lost in the Canadian wilderness, he had let her back into his truck. Scared and alone in the world, he had promised to protect her. At deaths edge, he had risked his own life to save her.

And he had danced with her at her first ever dance. He'd been the only one brave enough to risk it, the only one to hold her without a shred of fear or caution.

She wasn't sure if that man still existed, but what if he did? She owed him her life.

All he had ever done had been for her. He had surrendered his very self for her and now she had to return the gesture. Even if it did mean sacrificing _everyone_ she had ever known and loved.

Her decision made she slowly climbed to her feet, swaying lethargically. Trudging back to the car she slid into the drivers seat and bent over double, leaving ten seconds between each breath she tried to ride through the anxiety attack that been threatening her all morning.

Shivering, shaking, sweating and unable to focus, she reached within her and activated her extremely weak telepathic skills, hoping to trick herself into a calm state of mind. Resting her forehead on the steering wheel, she waited until it had subsided slightly before coolly driving the jeep back to base, driving slowly so as not to trigger another attack.

Feigning nonchalance, she ambled back to her tent, greeting those she knew, guessing that after midnight she might never see them again. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes and she knuckled them away, angry with herself.

"Rogue?"

Startled she cried out at her name and spun quickly to find the Professor had managed to approach her without her notice, "Yes Professor?" she gasped, earning her a curious look,

"Are you okay my dear?" he reached up and caught a gloved hand in her own, she tried giving him a smile and failed, "I'm a little…under the weather" she lied, quickly checking to ensure her mental shields were in place, safe from the telepath's prying eye.

He didn't even see past her façade, "Perhaps a lie down? With such a dry spell on the fighting front, I think we can allow it for now"

"Thank-you" from habit she bobbed her head quickly and then darted into her tent, snapping the material shut and throwing herself across the beds.

Despite her nerve-wracking fear, she did doze slightly, waking to find the afternoon sun casting its light through her khaki tent. Sitting up she yawned and wiped her mouth, looking about her for her meagre possessions, her duffel bag, her clothes and toiletries. Suddenly it hit her; she would have to pack them all.

She would have to pack for a permanent journey.

She would most likely never return to this place.

Hollowness gripped her and she lay down again, letting the tears run down her face, clutching her stomach. She would never see this campsite again.

Or the people.

Hank McCoy- the dear, compassionate healer.

Emma Frost- the beautiful, strong feminist.

Kitty Pryde- the cute, dependable friend.

And Jubilation Lee…

She sobbed at that last name, the grief becoming overwhelming.

Jubilee, her dear sweet Jubilee- her closest friend, her rock, her sister.

She might never see her…

Hand to her mouth to smother her sobs, she curled instinctively into a foetal position and allowed herself to lose control.

* * *

"Rogue?"

She opened her eyes and blinked against the darkness, "What time's it?" she mumbled groggily,

"It's ten o'clock"

For a moment she thought it was morning and shot up in terror, "Oh God! I was meant to be at…"

Then she saw the lights outside and realised it was nighttime, and actually breathed a sigh of relief. She looked up and saw Scott Summers hovering nervously over her bed, "Rogue…I have to know now if you're coming with me tonight or not…"

"I'm comin'" she whispered, "Just…let me get my stuff"

She brushed her hair from her face and swung her legs over the bed, he helped her up and then handed her her duffel bag, and she took it, staring at him.

"I've packed all your things," he promised, reaching over to slip her jacket about her shoulders, "I did it this afternoon"

"Are you sure…?" she began to ask but he cut her off, "I had Kitty help me under the pretext of moving you to the sickbay. You did look ill today…" he broke off and examined her in the dim light, she couldn't meet his gaze,

"Let's just go Scott" she decided, "Say goodbye to Kit and Jubes and go"

He grabbed her arm and stopped her at the entrance, "Rogue…we have to sneak out…we can't let anyone know…"

"Oh"

It was all she could say, it made perfect sense to her of course, but still…it was so-_final._

"Rogue…" Scott's voice was ridden with shame, "I'm…"

"Did I ever really have the choice of not goin' through with this?" she demanded suddenly, glaring at him. He couldn't answer her, she nodded,

"I thought so"

Pushing past him, she stepped out into the night.

* * *

Both of them had been trained in covert ops, and as such, knew how to steal quietly away from the base, blending into the shadows and going unnoticed by all. Once a safe distance away, she dropped back and let him lead her. Surprisingly her mind was clear and she thought herself calm, though in all fairness she was likely in shock.

They travelled in silence, her following his path, step for step, once they reached the hill. Her boots crushing the tumbleweed and other dry plants, she readjusted her duffel bag and slid her arms through her green jacket.

He was waiting for her at the top of the hill. She raised her head to meet him,

"So what do we do now?" she asked, he shrugged, checking his watch,

"It's twenty-three fifty five. I say we wait a while, he might not come exactly at midnight"

"Great" she mumbled sarcastically, perching herself on the large slabs or rock, sitting on her hands and drumming her feet.

"Rogue" he tried again, "I am…"

"Save it Scott," muttered through clenched teeth.

"But…"

"_Scott Summers_" she hissed, "Right now I am scared, sick to my stomach with anxiety and have no idea what's going to happen to me. I do not even want to _begin_ to think about what part you and the Professor had in leading me to this point!"

They both jumped as his watch beeped to announce midnight- and her attention was drawn to the empty night air on the hill before her, the perception filter most likely arranged by the powerful Scarlet Witch. From it stepped an all too familiar figure. She rose to her feet and simply stared at him as he came forward, his gaze upon her, unwavering and unreadable.

"Hello Logan"

The greeting came from Scott but there was no response, the Wolverine was still watching her, she fidgeted and dropped her gaze nervously. A hand entered her vision and she gasped, it was heavily callused despite his healing factor and she wondered why. It rested under her chin and tilted it to meet his eye, hazel into green counterparts, locked together in curiosity even as Scott took his leave of them. Scrambling back down the hill the way he came, it wasn't until she could no longer hear his step that she realised she was alone with the enemy. He dipped his head towards hers as he softly, unbelievably gently pressed his lips to her forehead, her pulse quickened with her accelerated heartbeat, he frowned,

"Are you afraid?" he asked his voice rough and unsteady.

She wanted to deny it, to claim ethereal strength, but her lie faltered in her throat so she nodded shamefacedly, looking down at his jeans and boots.

"It's okay, you're safe now"

Bending down he scooped her bag up, grasping it in his hand and wrapped his free arm about her shoulders. Pulling her close as he guided her towards Magneto's army.

A/N- Kay some of you might be wondering at Rogue's lack of murderous anger towards the Professor. It's called shock, disbelief and lack of consideration on the matter as her thoughts were more focused on Wolverine. Trust me angry Rogue comes later.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N- Somebody tell me why the lines arent working! anyhow hope this conveys the actions of a semi-stable man.

* * *

He was holding her.

His Marie.

In his arms!

She had come. Just like Summers had promised, just like he had hoped. She had come to him, his darlin' sweet Marie.

He had an arm wrapped about her shoulders; she was huddled against him, so _small_, even against his height, quivering like a caged bird. Gently he rubbed her arm with his hand, his other hoisting her bag over his shoulder. He navigated their way down the steep canyon, sacrificing any talk in favour of concentrating on his steps, he couldn't let his darlin' get hurt.

Once to flatter ground, and with the camp still a fair distance he stole a glance at her. It had been seven hundred and sixty-three days since he had last seen her, had last held her against him. How had she managed to grow more beautiful?

Her eyes were an even more vivid green, announcing her depth for the world to see and concealing it in the same quick look, her hair was shorter but wilder, her ivory streaks luminescent in the moonlight and reflecting her soft, peach toned flesh. Her lips…he remembered those dark, smooth, pouting petals instinctively yielding under his own, without thinking, he reached over and ran a callused thumb against them, his heart kicked into overdrive when he felt the silken skin. She stopped walking and raised her eyes to his, stiffening under his touch. He wondered if he had startled her, he tried to give her a loving smile, but it had been so long, he opened his mouth to speak but had forgot how to talk to another person.,

How to calm his frightened darlin' down.

"You've grown up since I saw you last" he offered tenderly, pressing his lips to her hair,

"It's been six years," she reminded him, her voice strained, her eyes focusing on the path before them, he nodded awkwardly, "Then you don't remember…?"

"Scott said you saved my life a couple a years back?" she revealed suddenly, becoming tense, he nodded again not understanding how that could possibly be anything other than fact.

"Thank-you" she stretched her lips into a ghost of a smile and, once he was sure she wasn't going to continue speaking, he continued leading her towards the encampment.

He had his darlin' in his arms. She might be frightened but he'd figure out how to show her how much he loved her. He'd find a way.

Or die trying.

* * *

The sentries stood to attention as they approached the gate, their eyebrows rising in curiosity when they realised he wasn't alone. Marie seemed to sense their attention and pulled her hood up until it shrouded her face in shadow.

"Night Wolverine" Spike called, leaping down from his post, "You were alone when you left"

He felt Marie tense up beside him again, he glared at the guard,

"Told ya I might be returnin' with someone" he recapped. Spike nodded and looked to his partner for assistance. Silver Fox simply shrugged,

"Shouldn't we run the usual procedures then?"

He knew that their sudden enthusiasm for protocol had nothing to do with security, he'd heard the rumours running along the grapevine before he'd even left his room. They knew that Wolverine was hoping to bring back a woman from his past tonight- and they were curious to know who it was, though the bookies already had the odds going on several known candidates. But he could sense his darlin's reluctance to remove her hood, her distinctive hair was a recognisable feature to her enemies, and these people _were_ counted as her enemies.

"Nope, anyone gets pissed with you, send em on to me"

With that he shouldered past them, his arm tightening about Marie in case they tried to remove her hood,

They didn't dare.

* * *

Despite it being after midnight, the grounds were still active with the energy that comes with being victorious. Many were eating around camp fires, though the electric lights blazed bright as day overhead, some were even finding forms of entertainment in bare knuckle fights or high stake card games. The mood was jovial and relaxed, many soldiers calling out greetings to him as he passed.

Suddenly Marie froze, causing him to stop; he turned to her as she cried out, his heart stopping with fear. "Darlin'?" he asked frantically, "What is it?"

"Where did we first meet?" she demanded, turning to him, her eyes becoming icy and her voice dangerous, he shook his head in confusion, "What d'you…"

"It's simple" she hissed, "_Where_ did we first meet?"

"Laughlin city" he released her and turned to face her, taking her hardened face into his hands, "I was cage fighting, you came in and stared at me for a while, you were wearing jeans and your jacket and…"

"You're Logan" she interrupted descively, jerking her head over his shoulder, "But whose that?"

He followed her gaze and found himself leaning against a post, holding the eating pavilion up, using a lighter on a Cuban cigar. He grinned, raising his hand,

"Morph!"

Looking up at his name the mutant saw his doppelganger and smiled, meandering over to them, changing back into his original form as he went.

"Evenin' partner"

"I asked Morph to cover for me tonight," he explained, ducking his head to whisper in Marie's ear, "Just in case it was an ambush, I didn't want to bring the entire army down on your camp"

She nodded, and then tentatively, leaned back against him, encouraging him to return his arm to its former place of privilege.

Morph stopped a few feet away from them, his brow furrowed in confusion against the dark hooded figure in the arena of light.

"Kevin" he began, suddenly finding himself remembering how to smile and unable to stop, "This is Marie"

The name hit home for Morph and he stared at her in shock.

"Uh Wolvie…" he stumbled, "Perhaps we should take this somewhere a little more private mate" he shifted his eyes to emphasise his point. Looking round he realised just how much interest they were causing,

"Right" he muttered, handing the duffel bag to Morph, "Perhaps darlin' we should go get settled…"

"_Perhaps Wolverine, you might want to go report to Magneto" _

They all jumped at the tinny voice, which appeared to be emanating from Morph's belt, the comm. blinked green and then became inanimate once more.

"Bloody Quicksilver" Morph complained, "No matter how many times I tell the bugger to shove off, he keeps getting my comm. number"

Logan rolled his eyes in sympathy, then sighed angrily, "Darlin' I'm gonna have to…"

"Wait!" Marie suddenly grabbed the front of his shirt, tangling her nails into it, "You're not gonna leave me here?!"

He shook his head, realising the stupidity of leaving his darlin' alone with their enemies, he should have thought ahead, but he couldn't risk keeping Magneto waiting.

"No…uh Morph"

"May I show you to your room madam?"

Morph was now a stereotypical English butler, bowing before Marie.

She managed a chuckle.

It was the most beautiful thing he had ever heard.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N- Just a short one to show how the X-Men deal with the...well deal.

"_No!_"

The anguished scream rent the night air. Chilling all who heard the cry to their very core, it carried with it such grief and despair that no being with a beating heart could ignore the sound. Several ran towards the scene, finding their way via the campfires that lit up the base, grabbing their weapons in the vain hope that what had caused the cry could be blasted away with man made objects.

A vain hope.

Kitty Pryde wept openly as she approached the source, her heart breaking in sympathy. In the centre of a rapidly growing circle, Jubilation Lee knelt crippled with sorrow, her hands splayed over her mouth to smother her own screams of horror. Carefully she crouched before her friend and reached out to touch her, the older girl seeming frozen, her eyes wide and unfocused.

"Jubilee?" she whispered, "Can you hear me?"

No response, uncertain she looked around for help.

Professor Xavier sat enclosed in shadows, watching the scene dispassionately.

Emma Frost kept her distance, biting her lip with the clear confusion that comes with divided loyalties.

Scott Summers, by far the closest, made the mistake of approaching the two girls, the clear intent to hold Jubilee on his face.

"_You fucking bastard! How could you?! How could you do that to her?!"_

She was knocked onto her backside as Jubilee suddenly came to life. The girl shot to her feet and threw herself at their team leader, sparks flying from her hands and dancing across his skin. He dropped back and Dr McCoy came to his aid, restraining the girl, she scrambled to his aid, as Jubilee became wild and violent, striking anything and everything,

"_She was my sister and you've killed her! You've as good as killed her!"_

Foam from Jubilee's mouth spattered across her neck and her shoes tore the flesh off her bare legs. Dr McCoy struggled to keep his hold on the enraged mutant, she trying to help but unable to get a clear hold. Scott took the opportunity to dart backward; Emma wrapped her arms about across his chest and pulled him to safety.

"Jubilation" Hank panted, "Jubilation Lee, my dear please be calm"

"_Calm?"_ she screeched, _"How can I be calm? He's sent my best friend to her death!"_

She dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms about Jubilee's legs to stop her kicking the doctor. Suddenly Jubilee seized and collapsed, the full weight falling into her arms. She fell onto her backside again but this time the doctor gathered the girl into his arms, sweeping her up and, after checking her vitals, turned to face Xavier, disapproval radiating from him.

"I assume you rendered her unconscious?"

The Professor was still in the shadows and made no movement, Emma cleared her throat, "I was concerned that she would harm herself or those around her"

"You were worried that she'd harm your boyfriend," she muttered spitefully, jumping as Xavier appeared before her,

"Perhaps we should have this discussion another time"

"Oh" Kitty faked innocence, "You mean when we're _not_ surrounded by the humans we're _supposed_ to be working with"

"Miss Pryde?"

She looked over at Doctor McCoy, "Please, if you would be so kind as to _help_ me with Miss Lee"

He widened his eyes ever so slightly and then turned towards her tent, trusting her to follow him.

* * *

"Will she be okay?" she asked as she closed the tent behind her, deliberately keeping the world out. This was one of those times when the exclusivity of being an X-Man was a wondrous advantage. A water pitcher tucked into the corner with a washcloth enabled her to wash her neck, she left her bleeding legs for later.

"Physically…provided she is calmer when she wakes…perhaps. Emotionally…I'd say not"

Sighing with exhaustion, she perched herself on the heater, wrapping her arms about her stomach, "Why?"

"Is that a question for me or for yourself?" Dr McCoy asked as he removed Jubilee's shoes and tucked the blankets around her. She shrugged, "One of my friends just tried to rip Scott's eyes out and the other…" she shuddered, "Oh _Rogue!_"

The knock startled them both, she was prepared to ignore it when the tent flaps were telekinetically opened and Emma Frost swept through. The woman dumped two designer travel bags on the floor, and looked around,

"I'm sleeping in here tonight by the way" she announced conversationally, causing Kitty to scoff, "Like Hell!"

Emma eyed her condescendingly, "Unfortunately my dear it's the only available space in Officer Country"

"It wouldn't be if your boyfriend hadn't handed Rogue over to the enemy," she cried standing up and clenching her fists.  
"And I wouldn't need a place to stay then, would I?"

She finally clued in as to Emma's sudden change of residence and lowered her gaze, the older woman sighed, "Believe me, Miss Pryde I had no knowledge of Scott's intended actions until Jubilee's outburst in the grounds, I presumed Rogue was in the sickbay as _he_ said"

"As did we all" Dr McCoy added, bending over to check Jubilee's pulse,

"She'll be fine" Emma reassured him, moving over to the beds and stretching her legs across one, "Wish we could say the same about Rogue" Kitty murmured, feeling tears come to her eyes, "Why, _Dammit_? Why the _fuck_ did she let him…she's so strong…she could have easily…"

"Perhaps it is because of her strength that she went" Hank mused, straightening up; both women stared at him in confusion.

"We always speak of strength as fighting ability or our powers, but what Rogue did tonight may prevent the deaths of hundreds or even thousands of people. Of course, one might say that she had no choice, that Scott would have forced her or that had she decided to run she would have nowhere to go. However Rogue wa…_is_ extremely resourceful, she could have gone to ground and outlived us and this entire war. I honestly don't think she considered that though, she'll have decided to take the path that leads to the preservation of mutant _and_ human life…"

"And what about her own life?" she interrupted, "What's to stop the Brotherhood from raping and killing her?"

All conscious occupants in the room shuddered then, physically sickened by the thought. Emma swallowed back the bile, gathering the washcloth and distracting herself by cleaning Kitty's legs. "Perhaps the same thing which has kept her alive all these years"

She raised her chin as they silently begged for her answer, "The Wolverine's love?"

"You don't even know if that's true" she pointed out, Emma shrugged helplessly. "Scott believed in it and- from what I gathered from Xavier's thoughts- so does the Wolverine. He believes he loves the girl unquestioningly and let's not forget Miss Pryde, come of the greatest men in history have been led by the nose by a woman. Rogue might not realise it…but she's about to get a whole lot _more_ power"

"Some of the greatest _women_ in history have been _destroyed_ by _men_" Kitty countered, "Some even murdered. Anne Boleyn ring a bell? Cleopatra? Mary, Queen of Scots?"

"Rogue is hardly royalty" Hank interposed, scoffing at the thought of their favourite Southerner wearing a crown, "No" she allowed, "She's not, she's something much more dangerous"

"She's an X-Man"


	12. Chapter 12

A/N- Nice long chapter to buy me time. Sorry bout the confusion with names in the previous chapters, I deliberately used them as little as possible to keep people guessing as to who was saving who and who's pov we were reading. anyhow enjoy.

* * *

Once inside the quiet, imposing barracks Marie removed her hood, trusting that no one would recognise her in the dimmest of lighting. The new mutant, Morph, still in his costume, led her purposefully past several locked rooms until they reached a small passageway. She hesitated but he simply shouldered open the metal door and disappeared inside, following tentatively she slipped into a small room. Barely larger than a prison cell, the room contained only a cot and stool with clothes thrown carelessly over it.

"Huh" Morph was transforming back into his primary skin, "Love what Wolvie's done with the place, really spruced it up"

She gave an obligatory smirk and then paced the length of the room; there was the smallest of windows to allow fresh air.

It was a prison cell.

"I would have thought…" she began, "That Logan woulda had a…bigger room"

"So did we all" Morph admitted, "But instead he picked the broom closet. Ah well, least you don't have to worry bout 'im over-compensating"

That crude remark served to remind her of why she was here.

In Logan's room.

With only one bed.

_His_ bed.

Swallowing she spun on her heel, keeping her eyes from the offending cot,

"How long d'you reckon he'll be?"

Morph had seemed to realise the effect his last statement had made, he shifted uncomfortably, "Well, Magneto likes to take his time, but Wolverine tends to have the attention span of a caffeine riddled louse, so…should be bout ten minutes"

She snicked at that, "Don't suppose he keeps any cards in here?"

"Caffeine riddled louse Sheila"

"Right" she wrung her hands, trying to decide what to do. She didn't really want to unpack her duffel bag, not that there was anything to unpack it into. She didn't quite want to venture out into an arena of enemies. She couldn't even think of sleeping-especially in the bed of question. However it was past two o'clock, her options were becoming limited- suddenly her stomach rumbled and she remembered that she hadn't eaten all day.

"Hungry doll-face?" Morph asked and she nodded shyly, "Don't suppose…"

"Eating area's just a stone's throw away," he offered but she shook her head quickly,

"I don't think I can…not with all those…" she leant against the wall, and gave him a shaky smile "I'm sorry"

"You're one heck of a brave woman," he told her quietly, "Not many would have been willing do to what you did on such short notice"

She laughed bitterly, "Had the Brotherhood won tomorrow…would I have been given an option then? Or by that point, would everyone have started bargaining to give Logan what..._his_?"

He didn't answer,

"At least this way I get to pretend that I had a choice"

He didn't have anything to say to that, he simply clapped his hands,

"So-what can I get ya for din dins?"

"D'you actually have anythin' cooking at this point?"

"Oh yeah, we have meals running twenty-four seven. A lot of us are nocturnal, plus nothing boosts moral like a full stomach"

"True" she smiled, "I'll just have some juice, I don't think my stomach could handle anything powdered at the moment"

"Powdered?! Doll-face we've got the real thing"

"Really?" her head shot up, "You got bacon?"

He laughed, "Bacon, eggs, pancakes, coffee"

"What'd I have to do for them?"

He laughed, chucking her under the chin "I'll get back to you on that"

Then he ran from the room, leaving her to close the door after him.

* * *

Left alone, she found herself looking at the bed. It was a simple, single bed, one cotton pillow, and nondescript bed sheets. Pushing down with her hand, she discovered the mattress was thick, thicker than anything she had grown accustomed to. It looked comfortable and warm- better than her bed back at the X-Men base where she'd been forced to huddle with Kitty and Jubilee for warmth.

How would both she and Wolverine fit in it?

She shuddered, but didn't turn away this time. There was no point; she might as well accept the truth.

When she had handed herself over to Wolverine, she had done so with the knowledge that he desired her body. She was very much at his mercy, should he choose to; he could take her once he returned from his meeting with Magneto. She had no leverage or grounds to refuse him with…

"_It's okay, you're safe now"_

Those whispered words echoed back to her, reminding her of his misunderstanding. He had thought something else had frightened her and hoped to calm her, perhaps… perhaps his affection for her. The gentleness he had shown her already…might be an anticipation of his later treatment of her…

Perhaps she _might_ be okay.

* * *

Morph knocked and glided in, juggling a tray full of hot, steaming food. The cutlery in his free hand, "Dinner is served"

She laughed with child-like delight, waiting impatiently as he set the tray upon the stool and fell on it ravenously. Morph retreated to the bed and watched amazed as she devoured everything before her. Eggs, bacon, pancakes with ice cream and maple syrup, hash browns, buttered white toast and a chocolate croissant.

If she didn't gain weight after this, there was something wrong with her.

She saved the croissant til last, nibbling on it delicately to counteract her animalistic treatment of her previous dishes. Rotating from her knees to sit cross-legged, she faced her new acquaintance,

"So," she began, "Where in Australia are you from?"

"Up north in the Malley, didn't see rain til I was twelve"

"Beaches?"

"Nope desert…as far as the eye can see"

"And" she hesitated, "How bout kangaroos?"

"Oh we were drowning in kanga's, whenever our tractor broke down we'd stick a plough to their backs and get them to farm the land for us…"

"Liar" A deep, European voice interrupted, "The kangaroos aren't tame enough for you to get within fifty yards, let alone attach farming equipment to them"

She jumped to her feet to face the intruder, Morph following albeit calmly,

"G'day Wanda"

"Hello Morph" she greeted sashaying into the small room, her presence overwhelming. She then looked to Marie and extended her hand, "Wanda Maximoff"

"Marie D'Ancanto"

Where the characteristic white streak in her brunette hair betrayed her identity. So did the blood red hair and aristocratic features give away Scarlet Witch.

Battlefields didn't allow one time to absorb the physical appearance of the enemy, other than distinctive features to recognise them later. They had time now however and used it to their advantage.

Wanda Maximoff at thirty-six, was approaching six ft and had a willowy, slender build. Her hair was blood red and fell straight down to her waist, she was olive skinned and her facial features gaunt, highlighting her black eyes.

An intimidating beauty in her prime.

Stepping back, she looked up into the woman's eyes, "How can we help you?"

Wanda raised an eyebrow, "My _father_ would like to see you. To speak to you and Wolverine simultaneously and make a decision which benefits everyone"

She felt her insides go cold and looked to Morph nervously; he hadn't taken his eyes off Wanda and was studying her quizzically. Marie cleared her throat, "_Right_ now?"

She received an icy glare, "Other plans?"

"No" she managed a shadowy smile, "Just concerned about the time"

* * *

Three in the morning and Magneto was awake.

Either victory was keeping him young or he was up for the sole purpose of discussing the verbal contract between Scott, Logan and her.

It didn't matter, she was walking into the proverbial lion's den.

She straightened her emerald jacket and pulled her hood back up before changing her mind and lowering it again. Time to call on her strength and hold her head up.

She kept pace with Morph as they left the bedroom, slipped out of the passage and stepped into the main corridor.

Where at least twenty mutants waited, all dressed for battle and some carrying weaponry in their hands. She stopped and instinctively tugged off her gloves, tucking them into her pocket whilst trying to determine who would attack first and which powers would be more effective.

Johnny had given her his powers with his last inch of life. Pyro- fire manipulation, but she had no lighters on her. The names ran through her head,

Storm, Jean, Bobby, Piotr, Ms Marvel.

Powers so many powers.

Which would keep her alive longest?

"Well, well, well"

A giant hulk of a man lumbered forward, the ground quaking under his weight; he stopped just before hitting her and leered down at her, in a way reminiscent of Sabertooth. He looked over his shoulder, "This 'er Fox?"

The sentry from before leaned against the opposite wall, "Yep," she was filing her nails, "I'd be _very_ careful though"

"Oh cause itty bitty Wolverine doesn't want us to hurt 'is wittle gal?" he mocked. Marie channelled Emma Frost and gave her best cruel smile, "_Or_ because I could suck the life right from you before your friends even get to intervene"

The giant didn't seem to like that, he rose a fist with the clear intention of knocking her seven different ways from Sunday. She braced herself for the hit, knowing that with her extended strength every last bone in that arm would shatter.

It caught in mid-air; he struggled then had the good sense to look down. Wolverine wasn't even half his height, but the giant dropped his arm, his pluck suddenly gone.

"Leave" he growled, thrusting the arm away and caused the giant to stumble backwards. He took the order and all but scurried from the hall, the other mutants were frozen, watching the Wolverine's every move, he turned his head,

"That goes for the lot of ya!"

In less than three seconds, the only three mutants standing in the corridor were Wolverine, Morph and herself. He came forward and cradled her face in his hands, "Are you okay darlin'?"

She nodded, he looked to Morph, "You see them all?"

"Yeah" he sniggered, "All Magneto's"

"Magneto's soldiers?" she asked, as he slipped an arm about her waist, he shook his head, "Technically no, they're Quicksilver's…"

"Magneto's son" Morph added, stepping around them to push open the doors.

"And they were waitin' for us outside cause they knew _my_ men would be inside"

Her eyes went wide as they entered the large audience room, noting that however many had been outside, at least double that were sitting around the room, standing to attention until he nodded for them to sit. Marie felt a smile twitch her lips and shifted, feeling Wolverine's arm about her waist and…not _disliking_ it. Every time he pulled her close, or slung a protective arm about her, she felt both thrilled and terrified.

Mostly terrified when she saw Magneto sitting at the head of a long table. The man rose to his feet and swept towards them, looking her up and down.

"Rogue. Welcome"

He offered his hand, much like his daughter had, except this time she refused to acknowledge it, to engage in civility with the enemies leader. Instead, she turned her naked hands and revealed her palms, "My powers" she lied, offering an apologetic smile. A quick spark of outrage in Magneto's eyes showed her that she hadn't been believed; however he stepped back and offered the warmest of smiles.

"Of course. Well, may I say how shocked I am to see you here, despite the Wolverine's…_hopes_ I assumed you wouldn't arrive until a bullet proof arrangement was in existence, as it is…" he shrugged spreading his arms theatrically.

She then fully understood the stupidity of her impromptu action; it was not Wolverine's mercy she was at- but that of the man she had just insulted.

Beside her, Logan smothered a sound in his throat, hearing this Magneto folded his arms across his stomach and smiled once more,

"As it is, we must simply make do" he looked to him and grinned, "You will prepare the troops of course?"

"They'll be out by midday"

She felt herself go numb with shock, "But…" she stammered catching the attention of both men, horrified she broke Logan's contact with her

"You…Scott said that you would stop fightin'…he said you gave your word"

His face went red and he silently reached for her, she staggered back,

"If your takin' troops to fight…I'm leavin' right now, promise or no promise I ain't stayin' here another second!"

"_Sheila_" Morph grabbed her arms from behind, rubbing them soothingly,

"Sheila, shush, Mags and Wolvie ain't talkin' bout fightin'. You and Wolvie are shippin' out to the Magda grounds tomorrow to reinforce it and whatnot and Wolvie's takin' his troops for the trip"

She looked over her shoulder to the Australian, looking into his eyes and extending her limited telepathic ability into his mind. He was telling the truth, she looked back towards Logan, his hand still reaching for her. Blushing furiously she came forward and slipped her hand into his callused palm, returning it to around her waist. However, this time Logan ducked his head, averting his gaze so that he didn't see her.

"Well" Magneto's tone was smug, "I think we've discovered just how _fluctuating_ this contract is…once you arrive at Magda I'll have Pietro draft something more…satisfying"

"_Pietro_?" the sharp voice intruded upon the conversation, "I thought that I would be returning with the Wolverine to Magda…_and his troops_"

Magneto made a response, Marie was certain of that, sure he would hurry to reinforce his power as he had with her. But she didn't hear him; she was too busy watching Logan, watching him deliberately avert his gaze from her, even as his arm clutched her tighter to him.

He couldn't bear to look at her.

What had she done?

* * *

Morph accompanied them as they left the meeting room, the troops surrounding them as orders were barked and questions demanded. For the few yards, it took for them to cross the hall and reach Logan's bedroom a lot appeared to be accomplished.

Or there was an invisible exclusion line at the door to his room, entrance by invitation only. Either way only the two of them crossed the threshold, and awkward silence reigned. She honestly had no idea as to what she should say.

'Sorry I shouted at you.'

'Sorry I threatened to leave.'

'Sorry I had so little trust in you that I assumed you had broken your word at the earliest possible opportunity'

None of those would come from her mouth, not fluently; she would stutter and stammer over the individual words, it wouldn't sound genuine.

Instead, she opted for, "So we're moving out today?"

He nodded, releasing her and folding his arms across his chest.

"I asked Magneto to position us as far from the fightin' as possible, keeps you safe, surrounded by my men and I won't be fightin'," he gave her a sidelong glance, "-as I promised"

She winced and fidgeting spun on her heel,

Facing _the_ bed.

"Um?" her mouth was dry, and behind her, she heard the door open. She looked over her shoulder, terrified that she'd made him leave. There was a hushed conversation and then the door closed again, Logan reappearing with a bag in hand.

A sleeping bag.

She stared at it uncomprehending. After all he had gone through, after all these years…he was going to…

"Does it come with a pillow sugah?" she joked, "Cause I can sleep on hard earth but metal's another thin' all together"

"It's for me," he told her simply, taking the plush black material from the bag and throwing it down on the floor. She blushed with embarrassment,

"No…Logan I don't want to kick you from your own bed…"

"I've slept in a lot worse darlin,'" he promised, a hint of his former tenderness returning, "And it'll only be for a few hours at most, sun'll be up soon"

She murmured an agreement and then unsuccessfully tried to smother a yawn, stretching she ran a hand through her hair and meandered to her duffel bag. Zipping it open she rummaged through her limited clothes until she found her nightgown. A long, sleeved white dress that fell to her ankles, pure wool, warm, Emma Frost had handed it down to her, it was loose yet somehow alluring…and required her to undress so she could put it on.

"Logan?" the name faltered off her lips as she suddenly realised that she had been using it, calling him by the name that she had once seen as simultaneous with protection and hope.

He gave her the same ghostly grin that he had given her at their reunion,

"Way ahead of ya darlin'"

He made a show of turning his back, giving her privacy as she scrambled out of her clothes and into her gown. She kicked them over to her duffel bag and seated herself on the edge of the bed,

"You can turn round now," she decided. He chuckled, "Thanks darlin'"

She brought her knees up to her chest and obligingly closed her eyes as he changed into sweat pants, when she opened them again she was surprised to see him bent over the stool. She craned her neck to see what he was doing,

He was folding his clothes!

She started as he spoke, "Haven't exactly been livin' the cleanliest lifestyle imaginable and I may have to change that now"

Seeing Logan do something as normal as fold washing endeared him to her. She settled into the bed, feeling safe for the night.

* * *

"Marie?"

"Hmm" she wriggled deeper into the blackness, seeking the same oblivion that had graced her barely seconds ago.

"Marie, darlin', its time to get up"

"No" she murmured hoping they would get the message and go away, a warm throaty chuckle, "Yes I'm afraid"

"Five more minutes?" she pleaded, snuggling deeper into the warmth, smiling as a gentle touch caressed her hair,

"Ok, sleep well my love"

"Marie darlin', time to get up"

She moaned and rolled over in protest, "Ya said I could have five more minutes!"

"It's been two hours darlin', and I have to go now"

"So go. I'll catch up to you" she promised, "Just leave me a note that says where I have to go"

She couldn't remember much, but was sure she had to follow the owner of the voice, the voice that was thick with amusement. "Sure darlin', I'll do exactly that"

She yelped as the bed suddenly disappeared from under her and she was kicking air, "No _goddammit_. Put me back down, I wanna sleep!"

Her feet touched the cold ground and she trembled, snuggling deeper against the hard chest. She reluctantly opened her eyes, finding herself back in Logan's room.

In the freezing cold, metal room.

Thankfully he'd had the decency to bring the sheets with her, he wrapped them around her shoulders, keeping her ensconced in warmth. He pressed his face into her hair, "I'm sorry my darlin'," he whispered tenderly, "But it's already nine and I needed to go"

"Hmmm" she readily forgave him, because she'd just discovered how comfortable she was and felt herself sinking back into sleep, she shifted her weight, finding little cold patches along her skin and sensed more than felt Logan become tense.

"Marie" his voice was hoarse, pained, terrified she looked up into his eyes,

"Logan, what's wrong?"

He turned his head to the side blushing, "Your gown…"

She frowned not comprehending and went to touch the neck of the nightgown,

Before realising it wasn't where it was supposed to be.

Trust Emma Frost to give her something that exposed her breasts every time she stood up.

Figures the first time it happens to her is when she's with a guy.

Scrambling to cover herself while tangled in sheets and held by Logan, she was close to despair when suddenly his hand reached down and grabbed the offending material, quickly sliding it back up to her throat. Her breath became ragged as his rough hand brushed her left breast, harsh against her soft skin. She swallowed and lifted her face to thank him but forgetting everything when she looked at him.

Desire

It was etched into every line on his face, his eyes swimming in it. Biting her lip she felt her body heating up in a way that had nothing to do with the environmental temperature.

"_Logan…_" she breathed, tasting his name on her tongue. He lowered his head towards hers until their lips weren't even a millimetre apart, the air between them almost unbearable with the electricity. She cupped the side of his face and pressed her body against his, "_sugah…_"

"Mornin' all!"

Crying out from the shock, she and Logan broke apart and spun to face the intruder. Morph stood in the doorway.

Well Clint Eastwood did.

His eyes wide with innocence, "I interrupt something"

Neither she nor Logan were capable of speech, she was still trying to breathe after so quickly severing the connection between them. She saw him shake his head, and was glad Morph left it at that, "Uh Wolvie, hate to tell you what to do, but Mags is waitin' for ya in the hangar and says if ya aint down there soon your loosin' your metal skeleton"

"Right, look after Marie,"

He reached out and twirled her white locks around his finger, "Morph'll bring you down to the hangar when its time to leave"

She nodded and opened her mouth to say something but couldn't think. He simply kissed her hair and then strode from the room. She gasped when the door closed and she still felt him there, a tie between them that wasn't broken by distance.

She was shivering now, but the cold had nothing to do with it. Morph came forward and smiled down at her, "Wanna go have a bath Sheila? We got those as well"


	13. Chapter 13

A/N- Just a short, mean chapter

* * *

Magneto knew that he was the leader of the Brotherhood.

The founder.

The symbol.

The leader.

And even though he had never had any true challenges to his power. He always felt slightly uneasy when he saw how effortlessly minions forgot his presence and scurried to fulfil the orders of the _Wolverine_.

Standing in the centre of the hangar beside the shorter man, he watched as the jet that was to carry both the man and his troops was readied, supplies loaded, people checked. All looking to Wolverine for the final nod of approval before considering themselves finished.

Yes, it rendered him uneasy.

Folding his arms across his stomach, he regally turned and strode across the floor, his cloak flapping behind him. His departure was noted; that he took pleasure in, many stopped and bowed their heads in respect. One however stood in his path and placed her hands upon her hips, no intention of complying within her body.

"I still believe I should be going to Magda as well"

He stifled a sigh and smiled benignly, "Yes my dear, I remember your opinion"

"_And_?"

"I can't see what use you would pose," he decided, standing against the far wall of the hangar, able to see everything and everyone inside it from his stance, yet unseen by most.

"What if Rogue decides to kill the troops…the entire city?" Wanda demanded, Magneto scoffed,  
"She'd have a hard task taking on thousands of mutants…and killing Wolverine might consume her time long enough for reinforcements to take her out…"

"She could be a danger, _I_ could watch out for her," she argued desperately, again Magneto shook his head,  
"No, I doubt a child _thirteen years_ your junior is a threat, though her powers are impressive…she will be interested in first establishing a relationship with the Wolverine and therein will be her weakness"

He looked to his daughter as the words caused her a physical blow and his smile held patronising pity.

Oh yes,

He knew all about his daughter's infatuation with his second-in-command.

He had watched, as her interested glances became smouldering stares,

As her occasional words became idolatry,

As she had made a fool of herself tripping over her own feet to hurry to his side.

He had seen the desire that emanated from his daughter and the despair she felt when it became obvious the Wolverine didn't return her affections nor even notice them. Quiet fury boiled in his veins at the thought of his daughter debasing herself for longing for the animalistic warrior,

He knew that she wished to give his second-in-command everything in her power.

To lay down the entire world at his feet.

Even at the expense of her own father and brother.

Though Wolverine was his second-in-command, he had other plans for a successor; he did not intend to leave his glorious dream of a mutant land in the hands of a semi-crazed animal too preoccupied with a Holy Grail to notice much else.

No, better that his successor be one who would found a dynasty of gods, capable of ruling for thousands upon thousands of years.

Better that his successor be his son.

Pietro.

And until then, his daughter would have to be kept away from Wolverine, lest her dreams of grandeur ruin all he had built around him.

That was where Rogue came into play.

* * *

He looked up as a familiar lilt reached his ears, the hangar doors slid open and through them stepped Morph and his charge. He had one arm around her back and another clenched before her, on which she rested a hand,

"Step, step, step…_pothole!"_

She gave a squeal and clutched the man, whose laughter became a shout of pain as she brought her boot down upon his foot.

She was blindfolded; clearly, they were playing some sort of game.

Ah the joys of youth.

"Yes" Magneto mused aloud, intent on hurting the infatuated woman beside him,  
"Too long has Rogue been forced into a role best suited for women _older_ than she, now she has time to rest, to play in the sun and _enjoy_ the feeling that comes with being wanted by a man" he feigned a delighted smile, "You my dear shall stay with me…fighting for our glorious cause, strong despite the cold and the dirt…speaking of which…" he aimed this particular blow to wound deep,

"Doesn't Rogue look marvelous now she's scrubbed and shiny?"

Wanda nodded numbly and turned away, her pain evident on her crumbling face. Dismissing her from his presence, he marched forward and fell into a step behind the Wolverine who was hurrying forward to greet his captive.

"Darlin'"

The laughter died from her lips and Rogue's head shot up, her covered eyes meaning her feelings were made clear on her face.

Hope and Desire.

"Logan?" she reached out for him and Morph was made to release her, Wolverine's arms ready to catch her as she stumbled into them.

"Darlin'," he murmured again, rubbing his face against hers, "Your eyes…?"

"Oh" Magneto watched with interest as she blushed, "Um…well, I don't know where we're goin' and for security reasons…_your security_…Morph reckoned I should wear a blindfold, just til we land"

"A wonderful idea" Magneto announced causing the trio to jump startled, unaware of his presence, "And now…are you ready to depart?"

He took her hand and she bit her lip uncertain, "Morph…my bag?"

"Right 'ere Sheila" the duffel bag over his arm, the guardian went to pack it away. She dithered uncertainly and bowing his head Magneto kissed her hand gallantly,

"Safe journey my dear"

Nodding she snatched her hand back as quickly as possible and attached it firmly to the Wolverine. He watched with interest as they melded together, both their bodies shielding one another. Yes, it would be interesting to see what came of the promise they had both made.

It was unfortunate that this had come about, however it had done so at a time he could afford to be merciful, a time when victory was all but assured and very little harm would come from Wolverine's retirement from battle. Besides he was storing his two little pawns deep within the heart of his new land, not only would they be trapped, but also, when everything went awry, as love promised it would,

He could crush any threat to his dream of a royal lineage.

He smiled.

"Charles Xavier, you've done me a favour"


	14. Chapter 14

* * *

A/N- Sorry this took so long- busy couple of weeks- anyway just another short chapter rogues insight is up next i promise.

* * *

Despite Magneto's weakness for all things marble and velvet, or anything that cost over a couple of grand. Logan refused to fly in a luxury liner. He knew that some of the planes he had access to had additional extras that would make millionaires weep with envy but he hated being in the air as it was, why add the uncomfortable atmosphere of champagne flutes and puffed recliners?

The jet he was flying in was straight from a U.S. military hangar, one of the last bases that had been left standing, once used to carry high ranking officials and perhaps a few choice civilians, it now carried his band of street fighters and bar brawlers.

And Marie.

He was getting accustomed to her body language, when he put an arm about her and she tensed it meant he was holding her in the wrong place. She seemed to prefer when he had an arm about her waist, her tilting head meant she was trying to see a situation from a different perspective, when she bit her lip she was unsure…

These were all common things, actions made by everybody, often meaning many different things and as such were often overlooked, but Logan knew what they meant with Marie, he knew because he had barely been able to take his eyes from her.

Because he would never tire of holding his darlin' in his arms.

Guiding her up the stairs into the passenger hold, he looked about at his troops, milling around, chatting and sitting wherever they felt, with the usual lack of ceremony that came with serving him. Thankfully, they'd had the sense to leave two seats at the back available, it also meant Marie would have to pass the lot of them to get there.

Sneaky bastards.

"Right, everyone, seats" he ordered, many dropping to their places but raising their eyebrows in surprise, he wasn't usually one to give orders off the battlefield.

He could almost smell the curiosity as he led Marie to her seat, she relying heavily on him, both hands clutching his wrists. He could see several of the men-and a couple of the women- eyeing her with interest.

They had quietly accepted the sudden addition to his life, not as happily their withdrawal from battle. He had handpicked them for their fighting ability and driven them until they were a power within themselves. However the part that confused them the most was his change in character, he had been nothing but a monster for the better part of six years, they didn't know the man before them now. They only knew it had to do with the pretty piece before them and they were staring with the subtlety of horny teenage boys.

He felt like tearing their throats out.

How dare they objectify his darlin'!

Sensing his disgruntlement Marie tensed, biting her lip as she felt her way into her seat, he tried to relax, to calm down so he didn't alarm her but he noticed that she kept as much distance between them as possible.

He had _frightened_ her.

He could see that written plainly across her face, whatever she felt for him when she let her guard down…it didn't change the fact that in one careless second he had scared her. Distressed, he reached out to stroke her hair, she jumped when she felt his hand and twisted away, mortified he tried to draw it away but she felt the air and snatched it quickly, holding it in her own and entwining their fingers. She threw a small smile in his direction and settled deeper into the seat, feeling around the edges for something.

"No seatbelts Sheila"

They both raised their heads to where Morph was kneeling in his seat, looking down at them both, "Sorry"

"Oh, okay"

The scent of her fear seeped from her skin, and her fingers clenched his a little tighter. He leant towards her and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, just brushing the blindfold,

"Afraid of flying?" he asked in the softest of whispers, she cleared her throat and gave the smallest nod, he chuckled, "So am I"

He mouth twisted in a bitter grin,

"You ever been thrown from fifteen thousand feet with no parachute?"

* * *

He shook his head, sick with horror.

Fifteen thousand feet,

No parachute.

"Ho…" he swallowed and tried again, "How'd you…?"

He couldn't finish the sentence, his throat rejected the words unlike the rising bile,

"Survive?" she supplied, having obviously long since coped with her near death experience,  
"I'd already absorbed Carol Danvers by that time, when I hit the ground I made a crater a _dozen miles deep_, took them a day to extract me…"

Her sentence trailed off as Logan leaned forward, feeling the movement with her hand, and hearing his struggle to breathe. "Log…are you okay?"

He shook his head, fighting to not be sick, she reached over and patting the air found his shoulder, "What's wrong?"

"You could have…" he gasped, "Fifteen thousand feet…a day in the earth…you could have died! You might have…I wasn't there to protect…you would have…I wouldn't have been able to follow you"

"Hey" she whispered, rubbing his shoulder soothingly, "It's okay…I was fine…I'm _here_…I'm here…with _you_"

He nodded and tried to calm down, but the panic still lingered within him.

That he had nearly lost his darlin'!

They had been climbing, he usually hated the climb into the air, but he hadn't noticed, now they were leveling out and he shifted, glad that the worst part was over.

Turning to Marie, he unclasped his hand from hers, twisting from her hold, she frowned in confusion, biting her lip. She bowed her head when she felt him reach at her blindfold,

"Is it coming loose?"

He shook his head as he found the knot, "No…I'm taking off"

"What about security?" she reminded him, though the corners of her mouth were lifting into a hint of a smile.

He grinned, hoping to cover his desire to kick himself for the foolishness of having deprived himself of her beautiful emerald eyes.

"I trust you my darlin'"

She was smiling now, "Thank-you sugah"

She watched him as he folded the rag up and tucked it into his jeans, then once more took his hand, caressing his knuckles with her thumb.


	15. Chapter 15

"We're here!"

Morph announced the obvious fact as the plane touched down on the runway, bouncing along the asphalt. He received a spit ball in the temple for his efforts, she watched as the female perpetrator readied the ammo, clearly intent on taking another shot. She froze however when Logan turned his head to her and rose an eyebrow,

"Ya done Egret?"

Marie could tell that the soldier was unsure, contemplating whether or not it was safe to disobey the Wolverine. However, by that act alone she must have done it before, as had many of them apparently.

She nodded and tucked the straw into her back pocket, notably turning away from the victim. Marie shifted in her seat to see him rubbing at the side of his head,

"Ya okay?"

He nodded at her then made a face; she giggled and settled back, her shoulder brushing Logan's. She felt a rush of warmth and chewed the inside of her mouth to stop herself from smiling.

She knew she shouldn't be smiling.

She shouldn't be smiling,

She shouldn't be blushing,

She shouldn't enjoy touching him,

She _really_ shouldn't be hoping to finish the kiss they'd started this morning.

But she couldn't help it, she couldn't see the man beside her as an evil captor. Not when he was her Logan, not when he folded his washing or allowed her to sleep an extra two hours.

Not when he held her close to him at every opportunity.

* * *

Such as now when the plane was slowly being emptied, the troops filing off in no obvious rank or order. Logan waited until they were gone before rising gracefully to his feet, turning to her to offer his hand. Tentatively she took it and felt a thrill of electricity as he lifted her; she couldn't help when she saw his obvious strength. He led her to the exit, and jumped down onto the earth below. She ducked her head and looked down realising that they had landed onto grass, not bothering with a hangar, it seemed strange and she waited impatiently for Logan to grab her round the waist and lower her to the ground.

Before realising exactly where they were.

"Washington! Magda grounds is Washington D.C.?!"

Logan shrugged, "Why bother moving the capital? 'Sides...it's a pretty house"

She glared mockingly at him and whacked his shoulder, but could feel some sense of..._relief_ that it was still there.

The White House.

Rapt, she strode across the manicured lawn, past the flowerbeds and around the building, admiring the still standing monument. A smile touched her lips.

It was eradicated the moment she reached the front lawn.

The White House still stood. Nothing much else did though.

She stepped onto the road. Looking around at the deadened trees, the levelled buildings,

The _ruined_ city.

* * *

Memories plagued her and she found herself running along the same path she had taken two years ago. Away from the White House, splitting from the other X-Men, their mission had been simple; ensure the entire city was being quickly evacuated.

Apartments, streets, hospitals, orphanages.

Men, women, children.

Then the fires had started.

She swallowed, trying to ease the burning in her throat, the fires were so _hot_.

Then Jubilee...

Mystique...

_Logan!_

"Logan?" she murmured, feeling weak, "Logan...?"

"I'm here darlin'!" his hands gripped her shoulders, holding her tightly against him.

The memories flooded her now and, overwhelmed she closed her eyes,

"Mystique...she wanted to...she threatened t'...vi...violate me"

"I know darlin'...but I didn't let her remember? I stopped her"

"You ran her through with your claws...then I was sick...an' you still kissed me"

She flinched and he shuddered against her, "I'm sorry...I know I shouldn' have...but it had been so lon' since I'd last seen you...last touched you...I couldn' resist"

"Why'd you leave me there?" she whimpered, "If you'd really _wanted_ me...why'd you let Scott take me back to our base?"

He exhaled and buried his face in her hair, his heart beating rapidly against her back, "I didn't...I always wanted you to come to me willingly darlin', I was afraid that if I captured you, that you'd hate me...I could never have had that. I always did my best to ensure you were safe...even if it meant havin' t'give you up so soon after findin' you again"

She moaned, turning on her side and burying her face into his neck,

"How could Xavier have believed you were bad?" she wondered aloud, then following naturally, "How could he have done that to _us_?"

Suddenly the safely stored anger against the man in her mind burst forth and she pushed away from Logan, pacing in her fury.

"How could he have sent you away? How dare he act as though I didn' have a righ' to know your feelings...as though I didn't have a right to choose whether I wanted to date you or not..."

Logan sighed, his hands on his hips, "He thought..."

"I don't give...a flyin' fuck what he thought it was wrong...wrong...wrong...wrong!"

She brought her foot down on the ground harder then she intended and cracked the road beneath her, her enhanced strength saving her leg from harm but damaging her army boot. It didn't make her feel any better, "Dammit" she bent over and yanked off her shoe, throwing it at the burnt wreckage that still remained,

"Dammit it's all their fault! Every last bit of it. Xavier's _and _Scott's!"

When she turned back to Logan he was looking down at the little cracks she had rendered in the asphalt,  
"They didn't drive me t'Magneto, Marie" he whispered, looking up at her with tortured eyes, she gasped as his pain ripped through her body.

"Logan..."

The strange beginnings of tenderness wished to drive her into his arms, to hold him against her and soothe his torment away. But she didn't trust herself not to push him away in favour of another angry rant. She opted for words instead,

"Logan would you have done..." she struggled as he watched her curiously, "...any of _this_ had you and I...been able to be..._together_ at Xavier's?"

He was shaking his head before she even finished, "Never...if I'd had you...I wouldn' have needed anythin' more in life"

"One decision" she muttered, "one _freakin'_ chance for Xavier to prove himself a man..."

She didn't finish, sighing resignedly she looked around, realising her shoe was long gone. Logan was looking down at her foot, her sock frayed and holed,

"Regrettin' throwin' that shoe darlin'?"

She giggled, feeling light headed after her rant, "Nope, I only need the one, sides its warm enough to be barefoot"

As if to agree with her, a warm wind blew through the deserted street, kissing their bare arms. He grunted, "Come on...let's get back to base and settled in"


	16. Chapter 16

A/N- Sorry, sorry, _sorry_, for the delay and for this development becoming twisted, due to requests there is some smut in this chapter, not what anyone expected even me but hey...roll with the punches.

* * *

He settled himself down in the front garden, stretching his legs along one of the many long metal benches that ran across the green lawn. Around him troops and civilians alike hurried about their business, eager to make the place habitable for the prestigous guest. Many cast him curious and sometimes resentful glances, some perhaps trying to gather the courage to address a lazy stranger. But Wolverine had been famous long enough for him to become known,

Logan. Wolverine. The Immortal Warrior. Hero of mutants.

Morph. His second-in-command.

He could probably refuse an order from _Magneto_ if he wanted, not that he was quite brave enough to adventure down that path yet. God alone knew whether Wolverine would be willing to come to blows with the leader of the Brotherhood, especially now he had the woman of his dreams in his arms.

Marie D'Ancanto. Rogue. Queen of Hearts- the _other_ side called her.

Morph remembered long evenings spent in his room, huddled by the fire, listening to his leader's tales of the girl. Remembered the haunted and slightly crazed eyes in the pale and exhausted face.

"_She was so little…I found her hiding in my trailer, hiding squashed against my bike…she was nervous but not frightened of me…she was the first person I could remember not being frightened of me"_

"_She was in my arms…so still, so cold...I held her, but she wouldn't absorb me…she was so still…I thought she was dead…her hair was white. I pressed as much of my skin to her as possible…my wounds broke open again but it didn't matter…as long as she healed…nothing else mattered"_

"_I had missed her, usually I walked out of a place and never looked back…but I spent every night in Canada thinking about her…I had to go back…it was a_ physical _pain"_

And now she was here. The young woman the Wolverine had fixated on for six years.

She was here and she was _dazzling_!

He smirked, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it between his lips. Inhaling deeply he looked down the road he had seen Rogue flee down and Wolverine follow, she had obviously freaked out but he doubted she had run.

Anyone who had survived the war so far wouldn't be stupid enough to try escaping in broad daylight.

So he lazed on the bench and watched the road, seeing her the moment she came back into sight.

Barefoot and laughing.

The cigarette fell from his mouth and lay forgotten on the burning grass; he stood to attention and studied the couple as they moved towards him. Many around him stole glances too, but he didn't bother with them.

Wolverine, as was fast becoming usual, had his arm wrapped about Rogue's waist, his free hand reaching across his body to rest on her hip. He ducked his head down as she spoke, nodded smiling and replied. She grinned and shifted closer to him, her arm about his waist also, though her free hand rested on his. They looked as conspiratorial as any lovers, their bodies touching in as many places as possible without them mating on the street.

'God,' he thought to himself, 'get a _fuckin'_ room!'

They didn't notice him until they were within a few feet, when Rogue looked up and offered him a friendly smile and a wave. She had quickly warmed to him, to him; her very nature seemed inviting and affectionate.

"You're back" he announced, his response tepid.  
She blushed, "Yeah…um…I don't know what came over me"  
"It's fine" Wolverine brushed her hair as he whispered in her ear, she gasped and turned her face to him, giving Morph the uncomfortable sensation of being in someone's bedroom. To hide his discomfort he found himself shape shifting into a tour guide,

"You ever been to the White House Sheila?"

She looked up and bit her lip, "When I was ten"

He gave her a crooked smile, "Then you're about due for another tour"

* * *

"This used to be the media room" he announced as they entered a dormitory, many of the beds being occupied by men and women, one of the resting lodgers rolled over groaning.  
"Morph, piss off before I make you…"  
"It is now where orgies are held and the enlisted 'sleep' between shifts"

_"Did ya really miss me all these years?"  
"Every goddamn day darlin'"  
_  
He turned back to his audience, wondering if they had heard anything he said.  
Wolverine's hand was now gripping Rogue's waist so hard her army regulation shirt was riding up, exposing a thin line of flesh, her hand caressing his, circling his wrist and rubbing between his knuckles where the legendary claws were housed. Their lips were inches from each other, their eyes hooded and their cheeks flushed.

"Right!" Morph spun on his heel and all but fled down the hall, up the stairs into the dwellings of the high ranking mutants. "Wolvie you might recognize this area…its where you're meant to be living"  
He wasn't quite sure whether he was still giving a tour or simply talking to himself, he heard heavy breathing behind him so he assumed the former. Despite the historic piece of architecture having been converted into soldier's barracks and Magneto's wartime planning centre, the original design still stood. The hallway sported plush carpeting and antique art pieces which many of the elite mutants lounged around, all supposedly getting settled into their rooms-

All obviously studying the new arrival.

Their eyes were wide and many eyebrows were approaching the hairline as Morph sped past them, he could easily guess why. Reaching one of the many white doors, he pushed it open and entered the last leg of the 'tour'  
"Right, souvenir shops closed but I'm sure you lot don't care"

Wolverine's bedroom looked much the same as it always had done, occupied but not _lived_ in.  
Strangely enough the room, which hadn't been redecorated since about Lincoln's murder, suited the man, the only additions having been an ensuite bathroom, thankfully with more modern facilities and an adjoining bedroom.  
Wolverine had ordered and overseen the construction of these himself- no prize for guessing who they were for.

Morph kept his eye on the plush white carpet as Wolverine scooped up a laughing Rogue and carried her over the threshold.  
_"You'll see darlin', I made your bed myself"  
"Careful sugar, you're spoilin' me"  
"I want to, forever and always"  
_He rolled his eyes and swallowed, gripping the doorknob as Rogue was lowered to the floor, safe in Wolverine's embrace. She giggled and then looked over the man's shoulder, staring him right in the face.  
"You can go" she mouthed, winking at him before closing her eyes and resting her head on Wolverine's shoulder.

* * *

Out in the corridor Morph shifted back into his primary form, his mouth curling with distaste. Skulking along the halls and various rooms until he found what he was looking for, he brooded on those words,  
"You can _go_"  
"You _can_ go"  
"_You_ can go"  
As if _he_ was some nobody, some servant to be summoned or dismissed whenever Wolverine had other matters to attend to! As if _he_ was the captured mutant and not second-in-command to the captor!  
"You can go" he muttered angrily to himself as he sat down at the communications console, "Stupid Slut"  
He momentarily enjoyed the scenario of him storming back into that room, of ripping Rogue from Wolverine's arms, of throwing her down on the bed and removing his belt buckle, forming it into a loop and beating it across her naked back, her screams of pain as he lashed her calves, her buttocks, her breasts…her thighs…  
Swallowing he pressed the necessary keys and the screen obligingly showed the little hourglass, before an all too familiar aristocratic profile emerged…

"_Kevin"  
The softest of sighs and the most gentle of caresses, stunned he stumbled back, hitting the wall.  
"Um…I gotta go…Mar…Rogue'll be getting' outta the tub soon"  
"Hmmm Rogue, she is _pretty_ isn't she?"  
"I…I guess…I'm not really sure"  
"Well she is…" the answer came as she pressed her body against his, her petite breasts crushed against his chest, "…beautiful for someone so…dangereux"  
The French slipped from her lips and she ran her tongue along them, captivating him long enough for her to find his left hand. "Honestly Kev…my _dear_ Kevin…we're worried that she'll harm Log…Wolverine the first chance she gets…or worse yet…have him switch back to the X-Men"  
"What…" he swallowed as she trailed his hand from her neck down to her breasts, running it slowly around her left nipple, causing it to visibly harden through her customary scarlet uniform,  
"What do you want me to do?"  
The question had been decided long before she began her administrations, but she couldn't know of his years fantasizing about the beautiful all powerful goddess. She pouted seductively, keeping his motionless hand firmly in hers as it played over her stomach, hers guiding his every move.  
"I want you to do what you've always done" she whispered, letting his hand linger on the band of her pants, "Protect the Wolverine by telling me everything that occurs between them and…in return…"  
She didn't finish her sentence but slipped his hand inside her pants, where the lack of underwear meant no barrier between his fingers and her wet juncture. She threw back her head and laughed as his fingers regained movement and pumped determinedly inside her…_

On the screen the features showed momentary annoyance before melting into the wide eyed, open mouth face of a lover,  
"Kevin…_dearest_"  
He leered at the screen, feeling the beginnings of a hard on,  
"Wanda, baby"


	17. Chapter 17

A/N- Yeah you know the drill, sorry for the delay i dont own anything.

* * *

When Magneto had insisted that Logan make some sort of residence for himself in Washington, in place of the usual tents or bunks in the enlisted areas where he usually preferred to camp- he had chosen the first unoccupied room and left it at that. Before Morph suggested that Marie might want a room of her own, somewhere private to stay before climbing into his bed. He admitted to himself then that he had never planned that far ahead, he had never thought any further than having Marie in his arms, had never contemplated the finer details.  
Ergo the conversion of the miniature living room into his bedroom and the best room of the small apartment going to his darlin'.  
He carried her over the threshold now, her arm slung across his neck for security, a long awaited smile on her face. He could tell it had been a long time since she'd smiled without reserve, like he had gone years without knowing anything but the desire to hold her in his arms.  
And right now he was drunk on the sensation.  
They were in the room he'd spent months and much of his previously untouched poker winnings and earnings on, but it was going unseen due to Marie being curled in his arms and unable to look, and him not caring if Apocalypse appeared outside his window dancing in a tiara and tutu provided he was allowed to keep gazing at Marie.  
Her smile flickering, after a period of patient waiting, she stretched her neck and pressed her lips ever so gently to his jaw, scrambling to land on her feet when her gesture caused him to lose all muscular control.  
She chuckled and winked at him, before turning to examine her bedroom. She gasped, her hands flying to her mouth and he hurried forward to make sure she was alright,  
"Oh sugar, ya did all this for me?"  
"D'you like it" he asked as nervously as any teen boy, trying to calculate how quickly he'd be able to refurbish it otherwise. But she nodded, brushing her eyes,  
"I do…I really do"

* * *

Logan had remembered that emerald green was Marie's favorite color, so the wallpaper, bedcovers, and loveseat had been specially ordered. Everything else, the desk, chest of drawers and floor were oak, some of his own design and making, all the best possible quality. The large double paned window kept out the noise but welcomed the morning sun and gave a magnificent view of the gardens, or the plane taking up most of the garden at the present time.  
"Y'know…" she murmured swaying forward and resting a knee against the bed, "I can't remember the last time I slept in a bed…"  
He grinned humouredly , "I don't blame ya, you were half dead when I pulled ya outta it this mornin'"  
She waved the sentence away, turning to show a incredulous face  
"That doesn' coun', that was hardly a cot let alone a bed"  
"It was good enough for me"  
She shook with silent laughter, "But that ain't sayin' much is it sugar?"  
With a yawn she flopped onto the bed and rolled over stretching luxuriously, causing Logan to admire the dexterity of her limbs and imagine them naked and wrapped around him. Clearing his throat, and trying to dispel the intoxicating images, he ambled forward and caught her left foot as she tapped his stomach, removing her heavy boot and sock he began to massage the remarkably soft sole receiving her purr of pleasure as a reward.  
"Don't suppose ya have all day to do tha' sugar?" she asked, using her weak telekinesis to remove her other boot and rest her right foot on his hip, it felt so light he barely registered its presence. He shook his head regretfully, knowing that he had hundreds of little tasks waiting just outside the door, things he couldn't just throw to Morph, but would rather oversee himself.  
Not that they were as important as his Marie.  
"Sorry darlin'" he apologized, she tensed ever so slightly and the scent of her disappointment reached him, "S'kay" she whispered, "I'll either curl up and take a catnap or…" she broke off and seemed to be chewing her thought, "Can I wander around the place?"  
"I'll make sure security gives you an all access pass, take my wallet too…we have a lot of shops up and running in the city…taxis too…anywhere you wanna go"  
"You trust me not to run off?" she teased him, laughing lightly and curling her toes against his fingers.

* * *

Despair washed over him, agonizing grief that made it hurt to breathe,  
For his heart to beat,  
For blood to flow through his veins,  
He swallowed against the fire raging in his throat, and bowing his head, pressed his lips to her foot, kissing the beginning of her toes,  
"You can leave if ya want to, my darlin'" he whispered, "I couldn' be happy if ya were here unwillin'ly"  
She moved quickly, struggling to prop herself up onto her elbows, "I'm…not Logan…I wanna be here…I wanna be with _you_"  
"Good" he murmured, releasing her foot and striding through the door, past his bed. Eager to leave the situation, the momentary doubt that had clouded his love and the first happiness he could remember feeling.  
"Logan!" he voice called him back, catching on his name with the hint of hesitation and uncertainty, automatically he stopped and turned back to her. She slipped off the bed and hurried towards him, wrapping her arms across her chest and removing them again, fidgeting with her hands. She licked her lips nervously and stopped a foot from him,  
"Kiss me on the lips" she requested blushing, looking down at her feet.  
Unable to deny her anything, nor ever wanting to, slowly he closed the distance between them and tilted her lovely face to his, their breath mingled as he bowed his head, determined once and for all to break the uncertainty and fear that was the barrier between them.  
"I've seen most of the world and most of its great wonders" he whispered, "But you're still the most beautiful thing I'll ever see"  
With all the gentleness he could summon he lowered his face and feathered his lips against her own.

Until the explosion rocked them both.

Their eyes were shut but they didn't need to see the effect the kiss had on them both, they felt it in their minds, in their hearts both stopping at the sensation before racing with a speed to suggest they'd just taken a dozen shots of adrenaline each. Marie moaned and wrapped her arms about his neck, pressing her body to him as hard as she could, not satisfied he wrapped his arms about her waist and gathered her closer, willing the laws of physics to rewrite so they could form one body, one mind, one heart. Opening his mouth he nipped at her lips, she gasped and parted them willingly, allowing him to penetrate her mouth with his tongue, dueling against hers and tasting as much of her as possible. He never intended to stop, but remembered that he was unable to breathe when red spots started to dance before his closed lids. Breaking the kiss with the utmost reluctance, he barely had time to breathe before Marie rained kisses on his jaw and found his mouth again, becoming the aggressor this time. Feeling weak he wondered if she'd accidentally turned her life absorption on before realizing he was swooning and stumbled against the wall for leverage, pushing her hard into the plaster, she nodded causing him to follow in a similar movement. Her hands left his neck and either with her superior strength or sharp nails tore his wife beater clean from his chest.

Startled he brought his head up breaking the kiss again; he opened his eyes and saw her panting before him, reluctantly opening her own liquid, desire filled eyes. "Kiss me again" she decided, moving a cloth filled hand to capture his face, he shook his head. "I…" he needed an excuse, he was sure he was meant to have done something today, "I have to go darlin'"  
She shook her head, catching his face in her hands, "Stay" she begged, "Stay and take me to bed," she swallowed and pressed her groin against his, her voice becoming low and husky  
"Stay and make love to me"  
His resolve wavered as he remembered his inability and lack of desire to deny her anything, but he sighed determinedly,  
"No…I don't wan' our first time to be…I wan'…"  
It was hard to remember when she was peppering kisses on his neck.  
"I wan' it to be special" he finished and she nipped at his flesh,  
"What did I say bout spoilin' me?" she lectured although she released him, allowing him to wander to his beags and fish a fresh shirt out.  
"Get used to it darlin', I'm gonna spoil you for every minute of every goddamn day"

* * *

Morph had disappeared somewhere but Ronnie or Egret had found another male to tease mercilessly, Logan watched as a spitball shot past his nose and damn near took an eye out.  
"Hey!" she cried out as her wallet was ripped from her pocket, Logan ignored her and fumbled through the contents finding her security pass.  
"You'll get another one when you stop molesting my men"  
"Sorry for stealing your duties sir" she gave him a mock salute and proceeded to follow him into one of the many offices. As he walked he gathered troops, many falling in behind him without so much as a word, he knew they would attend the impromptu meeting and stay for as long as they needed, leaving without ceremony or seeking permission.  
Logan sometimes knew that as a second-in-command he should have more official meetings, encourage obedience and demand the respect his position gave him. He knew his manner offended Magneto, whom lived for rite and ritual and irritated Quicksilver, who had to buy his troops. However the darkness which he knew to sometimes flood his mind and drive him to unwitting actions seemed most prominent when he was near or partaking in long, formal occasions, his easy-going tendency postponed it best.  
And gained him true loyalty amongst his people.

He rested his palms on the long antique table and looked curiously at numerous sheets of paper with indecipherable numbers and measurements, "_Right_…Freddie?"  
A large bowling alley of a man lumbered forward, "Yeah dude?"  
"What am I looking at?"  
"Uh building plans for the reconstruction of the city"  
"Right"

_Because this is my area of expertise_

"We need the infrastructure, make it happen"  
Freddy waddled forward and grabbed the sheets, scurrying from the room to turn them into brick and mortar, hospitals and schools.  
"Next!"  
Ronnie sauntered forward, grabbing a file from a stuttering nobody. "We have reason to believe that the enemy is skirting around the coast of Boston…small numbers daily…probably heading to their base in…what's _left_ of New York. With the presumed lull in battle action they're more likely trying to prepare their next move. What're gonna do about it?"  
Logan smirked; _this_ was why he liked Ronnie. She was cut from the same cloth as him, simple life, simple actions but enough balls to speak to him as he liked to be spoken to.  
A man who was only to be feared if you crossed him, who preferred honesty and straightforwardness to flattery. "Any reason to think they plan an attack on Washington?"  
She hesitated then, and in a moment he remembered why they would have reason. Remembered that one of their most celebrated soldiers, a beacon of hope that had drawn followers to serve under the X-Men banner, was meandering about upstairs, his kiss probably still on her lips.  
"_Other_ than the most obvious one"  
Ronnie exhaled with relief and smiled, silently thanking him for not making her test the boundaries of their comradeship too far, "It would be suicide to attack Magda, they don't have the numbers or the weaponry, even if they gained a foothold here, they're surrounded on all sides by our people-more likely than not…they're tired, discouraged and want a rest"  
He nodded, "Keep an eye on them then, if any stray too far into our territory, capture or kill but otherwise leave them be"  
He continued hearing, discussing and deciding on the matters brought before him by the people, his people, showing a noticeable patience, good humor and generosity that seemed similar to his typical nature but alien to them- especially when people not within his immediate acquaintance were concerned. But he could afford to be a good man now; he could afford to think of the X-men with pity and compassion. He could afford to consider granting Scott Summers a temporary reprieve from battle, he could afford much…now he was victorious.


	18. Chapter 18

__

A/N- Just a short quick 'back at the ranch' chapter. dont own anything.

* * *

_'This is the way my world ends-  
Not with a bang but a whimper  
Not with a cry but a sigh  
Not with a battle but a surrender'_

Jubilee had butchered and rewritten that poem of T.S Elliot's in her mind countless times over the last week. It had been the words that had awoken her from her enforced rest, the words that had slithered through her mind as she looked around and realized that it hadn't been a dream.  
That Rogue was really gone.  
She would cry, but she had done that already, she would rage and scream, but she had to be quiet, she would try to deny the fact, but it would inevitably push itself into her reality.  
A tortured moan tried to break through her clamped lips; she rocked forward and nearly fell to her knees, causing those around her to glance sideways in concern. She was under a military tarp, sheltered and camouflaged from both the glaring midday sun and the scouting planes the Brotherhood occasionally sent overhead.

They had the skies,  
They had the land,  
They had her best friend.

Oh she heard the whispers of the soldiers around her, they spoke of her and Rogue being lovers, spoke of how she was a wreck without her and it was probably because she missed her 'bedmate'.  
They didn't understand.  
Jubilation Lee was famed but very little was known about her life before the X-Men.  
The two emotions she remembered from her childhood were happiness and anger. She had been the sheltered, pampered Californian Princess of two beautiful parents- at that time happiness was all she had known. The anger came on the very last day of her childhood- when the policeman bent down to meet her eyes and explain to her that her parents had been in a car crash and she would never be able to see them again, that they had left her alone in a world that didn't have time for weakness.  
Then fear heralded in her adulthood.  
Everyday of her homeless life had been filled with fear, when she snuck into the mall toilets she had made her beds for the better part of two years and knew she would be out in the freezing cold again soon enough. When her powers had emerged and she realized she would be even less acceptable to society then she already was. When she had got her period and hadn't known what was happening- fear had been as close to her as her skin.  
Suddenly though, she had been found by Dr Grey and Miss Munroe, they had taken her to a wonderful mansion and called it her home- they had introduced her to another urchin...a girl called Rogue.  
Jubilee still didn't know why, but she had volunteered to share a room with her new acquaintance, even before her formal acceptance of attending Xavier's, had wanted to stay close to her new Southern friend and found the affection easily reciprocated.

People didn't understand the link between them and assumed they were lesbians- some had dared call them that to their face- they didn't understand the years they had spent sleeping in the same room, sharing clothes, make-up, secrets. Incomprehensible to them the wondrous innocent _sexless_ intimacy that came with sharing a bed with someone who's life was entwined so irrevocably with your own. The reprieve after a long battle, the understood need for silence as you tried to scrub the invisible but obviously there blood from your hands.  
She had been her dearest friend.  
And now she was gone.  
Not dead but at the mercy of a megalomaniac and a madman.

Jubilee wondered if they realized that they had forfeited their right to live the moment Rogue had stepped into their territory as a prisoner. Had invoked a murderous, all consuming hatred that would only be slated by the sight of their blood feeding the earth they so carelessly poisoned.

She would kill them,  
She would kill them all.  
With or without the X-Men.


	19. Chapter 19

A/N- Ok so the next few chapters are going to be completely based on the physical side of Rogue and Logan's relationship then evil is gonna make a nice big splash.

* * *

"Ooh, something pink and frilly!"

She rolled her eyes, "Really explainin' t'me why there's no girlfrien' in ya life Morph"

"I'm shopping for you Sheila"

"I though' ya just wanted a day off"

"Nah I though' you'd need a good ol' pal to sit and yap to"

"Righ', sure ya did sugah"

Snickering quietly Marie stood in the middle of a clothing shop, one of the many stores still standing in Washington,  
_'Magda'_ she reminded herself, '_it's called Magda now_'

Magneto's capital-and while the rest of the United States went without the basic facilities or places to lay their children's heads at night. Magda had fully functioning hospitals, shops, hotels, restaurants, even luxury spas in case the need to relax came to any of the lucky citizens. She scowled as her hand found a long red _silk_ sleeved top, reminding her unwillingly of the old khaki army tents that she, Kitty, Emma and Jubes had spent endless hours over, darning them until they were beyond repair and then cutting them up to make shirts and pants for people who had lost everything. Emma Frost had originally bought clothes from black market traders and given away her hand-me-downs, she'd had to surrender that kindness however when her resources had started to dwindle and the numbers of needy had become overwhelming. But how nice to know that the enemy had silk on hand in case they needed something pretty to wear to their luxury spas.

At least Logan had the decency not to flaunt victory in his clothing.

She sighed releasing the silk and looking for something more sensible, thinking of Logan had the contradicting effect of calming her down and exciting her at the same time.

Calming her because she knew he was different from those she saw as her enemies,

And exciting her when her thoughts strayed to the passionate kiss they had shared that very morning.

She swallowed and felt the blush color her cheeks; she could still feel his lips against hers, his tongue delving into her mouth, his chest pressing to her breasts, she shuddered with the tangible regret that he had stopped their moment. Had pulled away when she had wanted him to press forward, had released her when what she wanted the most was to have been held closer, to have been lifted into his arms and carried to his bed.

To have had her clothes removed and his hands run over every part of her body…

_That_ was where she should be right now, in Logan's bed exploring passion with him, not shopping with Morph.

She grinned ruefully, not that she didn't like Morph he was a great guy. He had fished her out of her bedroom and into the city to shop, providing a steady stream of jokes and chatter, easing her into a relaxing, easy-going happy mood. She jumped now as he appeared over the top of the dress rack, sporting an overdone, rhinestone covered, feathered boa sporting hat, the look on his face, the face of Kevin Sydney was just so ridiculous that she couldn't help laughing out loud.

* * *

"Hi!"

Both of them turned to see a young teenage girl standing behind them, her arms full of shopping bags and an older woman, potentially her mother, a few feet away. The girl had long green hair and scales running down her arms, Marie ran the distinctive features through her mind before ascertaining that she hadn't met this girl on a battle field before- _thankfully_, she doubted the girl had ever seen firsthand violence.

She smiled kindly, "Hey sugah, what can I do for ya?"

"You look familiar, have I seen you somewhere before?"

She scrutinized Marie, the golden eyes resting noticeably on her white streaks and she flushed with chagrin, mentally kicking herself for not hiding her trademark hair under a hat or her brunette locks. Within the civilians of her own side Marie had been easily recognizable and quite often separated from the public by word or deed, sometimes getting an invitation to dinner, a prayer of thanks, there she had been welcome and somewhat enjoyed the affection of the people whose lives she'd saved.

This was something different all together,

This was attempted ostracizing.

By a girl at _least_ eight years her senior.

So she threw a dazzling smile, feigning puzzlement,

"No I don' think so sugah, unless you work at the big ol' White House up the road?"

The girl glared angrily at her, "Listen bitch, I _know_ who you _are_ and you're human loving ways _aren't_ welcome here!"

Marie kept her smile in place, "What's your name _little_ sugah?"

The girl gave her an even more arrogant glare, "Why?"

"Because when I explain that I'm not welcome here to Logan I'm sure he's gonna wanna know why..._oh_" she broke off and giggled, "That's _Wolverine_…in case you and he _aren't_ on first name terms"

The girl paled visibly and her mother hurried forward and tugged her away, leaving Marie to wave brightly and, spinning on her heel, rolled her eyes and looked to Morph.

"_Bitch_"

"I know _I_ am Sheila, but she was a bit much as well"

He reached over the rack and patted her hand, "Congrats by the way"

Marie sniggered and, her arms full of clothing began to make her way through the store, "Morph when I was seventeen years ol' I looked Magneto in the eye as he tol' me I was gonna die, I wasn' much older when the war erupted and I've been riskin' death every damn day since, I ain' gonna be outsassed by a girl who migh' no' even have hi' _puberty_ yet"

He silently offered her an abandoned basket to offload her shopping in and then hit a left arriving in an ocean of silk and lace,

"Lingerie!" he announced excitedly,

"Common Sheila, time to try somethin' on for Morphy"

Marie laughed, "Sure sugah, I will if you will"

"Common," he pleaded, handing her a lacy corset, "If Wolvie's gonna see I shoul' see it to!"

_Wolverine_

Marie blushed to the very roots of her hair as she realized Morph's innuendo. She was officially _here_ as Logan's bedmate, shouldn't she dress for the part?  
He seemed to sense her discomfort, for he remained quiet when she hung the corset back on the rack and instead chose a pair of Victoria Secret white silk pajamas, comfortable, modest, and attractive but without turning her into the whore people must assume she was.

* * *

After settling on a few outfits that provided both practicality and suited her wonderfully, she charged it to Logan's credit card, realizing quickly when Morph gave her the pin number that it was her birth date, Marie called an end to the shopping expedition and they drove back to the House. Keeping her gaze focused on the window, she was the first to notice Logan stepping into the garage to meet them, smiling she climbed out of the car almost before Morph had cut the ignition and stepped right into his embrace, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Hey sugah," she murmured, wrapping her arms about his waist,

"Hey darlin'" he kissed her forehead, "How was your shopping trip?"

She decided not to enlighten him as to the public's view of her, but instead buried her face in his neck,

"I missed you" she breathed, pressing her lips ever so gently to his flesh, he squirmed.

"Not _here_ darlin'"

"Okay" she slid her hands under his shirt, "Take me back t'our room then"

He growled and she fought the urge to laugh, knowing he was just as eager as she was. Morph however clearly wasn't in the romantic mood as he chose to clear his throat, appearing before them as a nun,

"Now, now, no inappropriate behaviour in public" she chastised, they both groaned and faced him with reluctance,

"You ain' public Morph"

"No, but _they_ are" he jerked his head and Marie looked over Logan's shoulder to where about a dozen mutants had gathered near the entrance to the garage, some holding papers and files in their hands, some staring pointedly at their shoes. Some trying to sneak away before Wolverine could name those who had interrupted his greeting her. Modestly she broke the passionate embrace and chose instead to take his hand, watching with slight amusement as their audience silently scattered, save one. A blonde woman who reminded her slightly of Emma Frost lingered and met her gaze curiously,

"Where are you two taking lunch?"

They faltered as one, and Marie took a deep breath, willing strength into her being, "I assume there's a main lunch hall?"

"I could brin' something to our room" he offered gently but she shook her head,

"It's fine, they'll have t'see me sooner or later"

She looked to the blonde who shrugged her shoulders, "Right, walk this way then"

* * *

Marie admitted to herself that she didn't know much about the Wolverine,

She didn't know his favourite colour,

What he liked most about his day,

What he liked most about _her_,

She did know however, that when people were loyal to him they came to expect the unexpected and took it with a smile on their face, probably because to do otherwise would mean a quick introduction of Logan's claws and their stomach/groin/vital organs. The majority of the mutants in the lunch area seemed to be practising this now, giving her an interested glance and welcoming nod, some even managing a smile and- one or two of the bravest in existence- a flirty wink. She kept a friendly smile on her face, able to see the entertainment and sheer confusion she was providing- also the grain of fear with the over-protective Wolverine at her side.  
Ronnie- as the blonde had introduced herself- led them to a small table for four, she and Morph filling the seats, before she could sit down however Ronnie unleashed her from Logan and steered her towards the buffet.

Towards the gorgeous, sweet-smelling food.

"Yum!" the word fell easily from Marie's lips and beside her Ronnie grinned, "Only reason I stick round the place, the troops here'd roast Wolvie for a good meal"

"_Good_ meal?!" Marie raised an eyebrow, "Sugah, look at the man, there ain' enough fa' t'feed a _fish_, le' alone a person, you'd hav' t' deep fry 'im jus' t'get a snack!"

Both women laughed and quickly struck up conversation, revealing their likes and dislikes, finding gossip from both sides to confirm, deny, or break into a million tiny details. At some point during the lunch when Marie's plate resembled the rest of the area and became empty she let her hand stray down to her side and found it resting on Logan's thigh, she gave it a gentle squeeze and found him touching the small of her back in return.

Despite many offers for Rogue to join Ronnie and/or Morph in the afternoon activities- there was (to quote Morph) _'a motherfucker of a poker game a happenin'' -_and some duties Wolverine had left unattended the moment he'd heard the car turn into the street, Marie and Logan walked back to their room, arms wrapped about each other. The large lunch and days events had left Marie feeling relaxed and alert at the same time, and the combination of these two emotions had her pressing her thigh against Logan's and nipping at his neck every few seconds. He responded with an almost continous growl that only had her laughing softly and digging her fingers into his hip.

"Somethin' wron' sugah?" she whispered huskily as they reached their door, Logan all but kicking it open.

"Yeah" he growled pulling her inside, "I've been wantin' t'do this for the last three _fuckin'_ hours!"

With that he grabbed her by the upperarms and caught her mouth in a passionate kiss, causing her to instantly lose track of time, place and self and realise nothing mattered more than holding Logan in her arms. She pressed herself as closely to him as possible, moaning with satisfaction when he forced her tongue to dance against his own, and she was able to wrap her arms as tightly about his neck as she could. Breathing appeared to be low down on Logan's to-do list and she found herself feeling light headed and dipping backwards, perhaps feeling the same symptoms he gently moved her across the room until she found her knees hitting the bed and sunk slowly onto the mattress. He finally broke the kiss, seconds before she lost consciousness and buried his face in her hair,

"My precious darlin'" he breathed in her ear, softening his hold on her, she in turn released him and ran her hand through his hair, kissing his forehead,

"Yours sugah," she cradled him against her, "Now and always"

He smiled and caressed her waist absently, she tilted his face until he could look her in the eye,

"Sugah...have ya really cared abou' me all these years?"

He nodded, "Ever since ya trusted me enough t'climb into my truck"

She managed a responsive smile but she was trying to breathe past the lump in her throat, she settled for dipping her head to brush her lips softly against his own,

"And I mean' wha' I said before sugah" she whispered blushing, "I want to..."

She broke off unable to finish and he shifted until he was atop her again, pressing forward to recapture her mouth as his hands slid up her body, but she could read his body language well enough to know that she wasn't getting what she wanted today.

"Logan..." she broke the kiss in protest and he shook his head,

"I've dreamt of you for the better part of seven years darlin', every decision I've made was to bring me closer to you. I wanna do this right, nice and slow...like we would have done back at the mansion if Xavier had let us be"

She closed her eyes and rested her head back, fighting the momentary surge of anger against her old and foolishly trusted mentor,

"Okay" she opened her eyes and rested her cheek against his, "So...want me to go to my room"

He laughed and kissed her on the cheek, "I said go slow darlin' not stop altogether!"


	20. Chapter 20

A/N- yeah so i take a while sorry bout that.

* * *

Ever so gently Logan lay her back against the pillows, watching as her beautiful eyes never left his own,  
Beautiful but glazed.  
He brushed her hair behind her ears, to better see her dazzling face,  
Dazzling but flushed.  
He wasn't going to fool himself, what his darlin' was saying and what she was feeling was two _very_ different things.

Just cause he was prepared to hold her now and forever didn't mean she was at the same point.

He understood this, he could see how she tried to be ready, tried to throw herself into their future, but the instinctive nervousness that came with the position they found themselves in.

"My darlin'" he murmured propping himself on an elbow to gaze down upon her.

She managed a quivering smile and tangled her fingers in his shirt, parting her legs as he slipped a knee between them. He grinned and felt the blood rushing as he lowered his body onto hers, using his elbows to prevent the weight of his skeleton from crushing her. She inhaled sharply when their bodies touched and he prepared himself to roll off her before she moaned and arched her hips against him, pressing her breasts to his chest.

A sign if ever there was one.

With a mind of their own his fingers found their way to her singlet shirt, raising it slowly above her waistline, up towards her bra,

"Wai'!" she stopped him and untangling her fingers she cupped his face in her hands,

"What's ya favorite color?"

He blinked stunned and answered automatically, "Blue"

"Why?"

"Because it reminds me of the Canadian winter an' the ice cold water…I used t'swim in lakes where I'd have t'use my fists to punch through the coverin' and my feet would turn black from frostbite"

He finished the sentence with a quick peck on her lips and she nibbled on his bottom lip, sliding her hands down to their chests and slowly pulling her shirt off revealing her black bra,

"Question?"

"Why d'you always wear singlet tops under open army uniform?"

"It tricks me int'thinkin' tha' I'm not army but a fashion victim"

Slipping her legs around his thighs for support she pulled herself up by her upper body and reached behind her back to unclasp her bra. He grinned and crawled forward to press as much skin to her as possible,

"You sure ya wouldn' rather talk?"

She raised her eyebrows and pouted, "Ya mean we can' do both?"

The black material fell away and she covered herself with her hands, teasing him as her lingerie dangled from her arm. Chuckling he ducked his head and bit down on the strap of the silky fabric, pulling it from her with his teeth, growling he threw it aside and pushed forward once more, having her lie back against the pillows. Her arms remained modestly across her breasts as he lay over her, gently settling himself between her legs and resting his forehead on her wrists.

"What's ya favorite animal?" he asked, his breath tickling the delicate hairs on her stomach.

Her arms fell away and exposed her beautiful bounty to his hungry eyes as she murmured,

"Ya mean other than you sugah?"

He managed a half-hearted growl as he drew his hand up to her left breast, running his index finger along the underside, she wiggled and tried again.

"A' the moment…it's a toss-up,"

Moving up into the cavern between her breasts, his finger inches from his own face, he cut across and traced her nipple, watching it harden as her breath quickened, her heart fluttering from his ministrations.

"Between?"

She swallowed, "The Panda and the Koala Bear"

He frowned and pressed his lips to the flesh of her plump breast, "Koala Bear?"

"Yeah…um…" she trailed off, her fingers lacing in Logan's hair as he began to tease her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, "It's…an Australian animal…looks kinda like…hmmm"

Her back arched and Logan felt himself become lightheaded with desire, unable to resist he repositioned himself so he could press his lips to her breast.

"Looks like?..."

"Um…I'll fin' ya a picture later"

He grinned and nipped at her hardened pebble with his teeth, she gasped and whimpered, fumbling her hands until they found his left one and placed it on her other breast. He smirked and buried his face against her smooth flesh, kissing and kneading her as she grew hot with desire.

"Why's it one o'ya favorite animals?"

She groaned and squirmed under him, clearly less interested in the conversation than he was. Compensating he ran his tongue around her nipples, causing her to gasp and pant with longing.

"Tell me darlin'" he tried again and was rewarded with her fingers running through his hair,

"Well the Koala Bear cause i' spends ninety-five percen' o'it's life sleeping, five percen' eatin' and less than one percen' devoted t'movement"

He snorted and the odd sensation had Marie scraping her nails against his scalp. Clearly he would have to wait to find out about her affection for the Panda, any longer and he risked loosing the heat of the moment.

Once more he kissed her breasts, sucking on them and then raised his head to catch her swollen lips. His hands flexed and kneaded her further, her moans becoming cries becoming screams as her legs wrapped tighter around him, her hands grasping his back and scratching his skin with her nails.

Too late did the scent of her arousal hit him and he realize that she wasn't just enjoying this…

He was getting her off.

By the time the notice reached his sex addled brain, his beautiful darlin' was already suffering the effects of an orgasm, her body shaking and her eyes wet with moisture.

He broke the kiss and she buried her face in his neck, still quivering and clutching him tightly. He released her breasts and wrapped his arms about her waist, rolling onto his back and cradling her against him.

"So…" he began kissing her hair,

"Why the Panda?"

She sniffed and gave a weak laugh, "Cause its bodies buil' for carnivorous die' but i' only eats bamboo"

"Huh"

He kissed her hair and massaged her arm softly, "So ya have a thin' for lazy animals"

She nodded and seemed to run a hand absently over his body…

Or so he thought.

"Let me take care o'this" she murmured as her palm cupped the, now rather obvious, bulge in his jeans.

Logan shifted uncomfortably, shaking his head as he began to release her,

"Best t'let me handle that my darlin'"

"But…" her protest faded as he slid off the bed and moved towards the bathroom,

"Logan…I wanna…"

"I know y'do darlin'…but…" he sighed and leaned his forehead against the bathroom door, feeling the painful throb of his erection straining against the denim. It would be so easy to walk back to that bed,

To strip his beautiful darlin' of her clothes…

To have her care for him with her hands…

Or her mouth.

He shook his head against the images, his heart thumping wildly in response to the sound of his beautiful darlin' rustling the bed sheets.

"Marie…"

Her name was honey on his lips. It came with such a smooth flow and familiarity to him as other words

Happiness.

Hope.

Love.

Quite possibly he was risking them all.

"…I'm scared…" he continued frowning as he tasted the language sensible to both himself and her, "That if I…hold ya so close…after…so _many_ years…I might not…be able to _stop_…even if you…_begged_ me to"

"I trust you" she swore, and he could hear her rising to her knees.

"Thank-you my darlin'" he answered her as he stepped into the bathroom,

"But it's myself I don' trust"

He heard her sigh and felt the disappointment and self-loathing wash over him, his hands curled into fists and involuntarily raised themselves to his chest, ready to make himself bleed for his failure,

"Stupid chivalry, if ya loved me any less we'd be on our thir' or fourth time by now!"

He laughed, his heart once more becoming light, "Too bad I love ya too much"

"I'll say!

* * *

Once in the bathroom his bodies yearning became a simple matter, particularly when he imagined the he could still feel his lovely darlin' against him.

He washed his hands in the sink and splashed his face with cold water, giving himself a moment to rest-

To congratulate himself on his strength and control.

His sweet darlin' was rummaging around his draws, probably curious, not that he minded. Everything he had was hers- his very life if she wished. He didn't have much in the way of material goods but they were hers anyway.

He leant against the tiled wall and listened as one draw met her with resistance, listened as she yanked on it and smelt the dust as it gave way. She encountered something with paper or paper like material covering, he could only guess what.

He heard as she counted softly under her breath-

"_Eight…nine…ten…eleven…twelve…thirteen…_"

Could almost picture her frown as she started again,

"_Ten…eleven…twelve…thirteen…_"

Suddenly it grew quiet.

Too quiet.

Concerned Logan turned quickly on his foot, eager to assure his precious darlin' was alright…

And staggered backwards as the door was all but blown off its hinges as Marie stormed into the room.

"You bastard!" she screamed at him, holding a tiny metallic blue box in her hand, "_There's two fuckin' missin'_"

Confused he could only look at her as she flew at him in a rage, throwing the box in his face,

"You fuckin' claim t'love me then why's there thirteen fuckin' condoms in a box o' _fifteen_?"

He caught her hand as she made to hit him and out of instinct pulled it behind her back to disarm her, she cried out at the pain and he immediately released her, bracing himself for an attack. Instead she sank onto the rim of the bathtub and wiped at the tears sliding down her cheeks,

"If you've been unfaithful t'me Logan…I wanna go home…I can'…the though' o' another woman…oh god I feel _sick_"

Horror struck him and in a fluid movement he fell to his knees before her, taking her hands in his and raining kisses on them,

"Marie…Marie…those two condoms…Morph came to me this mornin' before he found ya t'tell me he was borrowin' some from me. I'm sorry…I didn' think you would…"

He broke off as he felt a gentle tugging at the corners of his mind, one he recognized and fought against.

Not since Xavier had he allowed anyone to read his mind.

"Logan…"

He had turned his face from her, fighting the urge to growl at the intrusion, even as his heart howled with outrage at denying her even the most difficult of requests.

Her lips were soft and cool against his skin, her thumb brushing his brow,  
"Give me this" she begged him, "Let me know the truth"

He took a ragged breath, his heart and mind warring.  
Another doubt!

"This is the last time my darlin'" he warned her, turning to look deep into her brilliant emerald eyes,  
"After this…you have t'start trustin' me, _really_ trustin' me"

She closed her eyes and nodded, "No more questions…no more accusations…just you and me sugah"

Sighing he opened the pathways to his mind, feeling her weak prodding against him, her clumsy sweeping of his mind, her grasp of the truth. Sliding off the rim of the bathtub she wrapped her arms about his waist and rested her head against his chest in submission,  
"Thank-you sugah"

He nodded and climbed to his feet, clasping her hand firmly in his, leading the way to her room. Outside the sky had grown dark, twilight occurring, casting the room in a pale blue glow. Marie hesitated at the threshold and looked to him uncertainly,  
"Goodnight?"

He nodded again, he was tired. He hadn't slept the night before; instead he had spent it in vigil, watching over his love lest a moment of closed lids took the dream from him. Feeling safer now, he bent his head and pecked her cheek, "Goodnight, sleep well my love"

An hour later saw him abed, but not asleep. He had listened as his beautiful darlin' padded about her room,

Heard the gentle whisper of silk against her skin,

The cotton sheets rasping as they were slid down to make room for her,

The clump of the doona as it landed on her,

The thunder of her tossing and turning restlessly.

Then the return of her padding feet, and the aching noise of her door opening,

"Logan?" the husky voice, "Sugah…you awake"

"Hmmm?" he nodded, rubbing his face with his hands, "Yeah"

"I…I can' sleep alone" he heard the embarrassment in her tone, "I don' really wanna..."

He didn't say anything, he didn't have to. He simply turned down the sheets and waited as she climbed into bed beside him, simply opened his arms and allowed her to sidle into them, simply moved his head so they could share the same pillow as they slept.

Simply felt his heart burst with joy when she turned her neck to look at him and whispered in his ear,  
"I really thin' I'm fallin' in love with ya sugah"


	21. Chapter 21

_A/N- Kay so this is a long chapter, sorry bout that- own nothing read and review thanks again._

* * *

_One month later_

*BEEP*

*BEEP*

*BEEP* *BEEP*

*BEEP* *BEEP*

*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*

*_smash* _

"Logan!"

Marie glared at him, her disapproving tone causing him to sheepishly raise his fist from the electrical wreckage of his former alarm clock,

"It was killin' the mood darling'" he tried feebly, she rolled her eyes,

"It's an…_was_ an alarm clock sugah, they have wonderful littl' buttons tha' make 'em shu'-up for another five minutes!"

"So i'would have ruine' the mood twice" he leered and rubbed himself against her,

"So really I jus' did us both a favor"

She threw her head back and laughed, "No sugah because now we don' know when t'get outta bed"

She sighed happily as he buried his face in her neck,

"Whenever I wan' us t'darlin'" was the answer.

Fair answer.

Unable to argue- or unwilling to- Marie settled herself back against the pillows, finished with talking. She had woken up this morning to find that she and Logan had once again fallen asleep in the middle of a passionate entangling, or at least that's what she determined from her pajama top being on the bathroom floor, right next to Logan's jeans. So naturally they had continued where they had left off, their bodies molding together in a wondrous embrace that had her scorning her virginity and Logan's chivalry.

For indeed she was still not Logan's in the most important way possible-

And that fact was driving her up the wall.

Every moment she wasn't with Logan she was unable to concentrate, allowing herself a glance at the palest shadow of what he had been suffering years previous.

And what he still was.

* * *

"Hmmm" she protested as he broke the kiss, once more withdrawing as the heat of the moment caused the natural consequence on his body.

"Goddammit" he muttered to himself as he sprang back onto his knees and then, ripping off the sheets, climbed off the bed,

"Logan!" Marie threw back her head and choked on a frustrated sob, releasing a curse herself she followed him to the bathroom, holding out her hand even as he went to close the door.  
Even with _other_ things on his mind, he automatically obeyed her request and opened it wider, allowing her to slip inside and perch herself once more on the rim of the bathtub, they went through this scene almost every morning.

Running her hands through her hair she looked up at him leaning over the bathroom sink, his erection straining against his boxers material.

"Please darlin'" he spoke through ground teeth, "Don'talk"

"_Talk_!" she scoffed, "Yesterday i'was don' touch you…how lon' before I'm no' even allowed in t'same room as you…before I'm kicked back t'my own bed?"

"I'd never do tha' t'you" he argued weakly,

She tried to rise but passion had left her weak-kneed, she clenched the porcelain under her and fought her frustration,

"I _love_ ya Logan…ya love me…_please_…"

She broke into tears and struggled to breathe at the disappointment surging through her veins,

"Logan…" she tried again, no pride in her voice as her need for him overrode everything.

"Logan…Logan…_Logan_…my love…sugah…ple…_please_"

Gathering her strength she managed to stumble to him, throwing her arms about his neck and pressing her face into his bare back, her lips against the very _warm_ skin.

With an animalistic growl Logan spun quickly, breaking her hold on him only to pull them together in a breath-taking embrace. Every inch of her body was crushed against his own, her head tilted back and her body too interested in the natural responses caused by her loved to notice that she was being lifted off her feet and moved.  
She cried out as she felt the white wall tiles against her back, Logan's tense forearms providing little barrier, lowering her head she looked him in the eyes,

Saw the passion…

Saw the reluctance…

Saw the raw need which damn near overrode everything else.

She tried to move but he had inadvertently trapped her, her breasts heaved with every breath and she could feel her arousal moistening her underwear. She wanted to speak but she wasn't sure if he would hear her, he was staring at the waistband of her pajama pants, clearly struggling to decide something. Then he pressed forward, nudging himself to between her thighs, and- with his boxers acting as little more than a material condom- drove against her with passionate, barely sane, force.

Marie cried out in shock at the brutal contact and for one moment wondered if Logan had somehow entered her despite the three layers of clothing- Logan's boxers, her pajama pants and underwear- whether he had finally made her his in every way possible. She gasped as he pulled back an inch and then thrust against her again, this time the rubbing contact playing havoc with her arousal. She bucked her hips to meet his and added an extra slide to better feel his cock slide up against her womanly curls. They developed a fast rhythm then, one that was all the more necessary to try and sate their starving desires.

"_Oh_!" she fought to free her arms and wrapped them tight around his neck, his chest hair grazing her nipples, looking over his shoulder she could see their coupling in the mirror and- not only was she granted with a lovely view of Logan's arse- from that angle it looked like he was delving right into her core. The image entranced her,

"Logan!" she cried his name just to see the flushed reflection do the same,

"Oh my love…_sugah_…_mine_…oh…oh _yes_!"

He was pressing against her harder now, his actions touching the softest secret of her body and parting her the slightest bit,

"Marie…" he grunted her name like an afterthought, his eyes very much focused on their connecting areas. As seemingly mesmerized with their unorthodox coupling as she was with their reflection, the bulging veins in his neck showing his restraint,

A restraint which she herself didn't feel as the familiar explosion rocked her body and her world became nothing more than stars and Logan. She murmured sweet nothings in his ear, nibbling and sucking on the lobe as her nails kitten scratched his chest.

Both soiled by the reactions of her passion, they leaned heavily in their embrace; Logan relaxing now, clearly assuming that she had been sated by the act.

But she was tired of their love being so one sided, tired of Logan giving her what she needed and then disappearing to 'take care' of himself.

It had been seven years for fucks sake!

_How_ had his nuts not exploded?

So she feigned innocence as she traced her fingers along the curved contours of his stomach, waiting until his guard was at its lowest before snaking her hands under the hem of his boxers and grabbing hold of his cock.

She gasped as she wrapped her hand around the shaft, surprised by the sheer size.

So warm…

So strong and soft…

So eager!

Experimentally she ran her hand along his length, blinking and looking questioningly at Logan as he quite obviously tried to suppress his reaction. He seemed determined not to meet her gaze and she bit her lip nervously,

"Am I doin' somethin' wron' sugah?"

No reply. He appeared to have stopped breathing. His erection was still strong in her hand; she caressed it with her fingers hoping to elicit a response from him.

"Are you comfortable wit' me touchin' ya like this?" she asked in a flood of words,

Still no reply

"Would ya rather we sit or…?"

Nothing

Humiliated beyond words she broke her hold and turned her back on Logan, covering her mouth with her hands as she faced the tiled wall, tears tracing their way down her cheeks. Her stomach churned and she briefly wondered whether it was possible to die from a broken heart.

* * *

It was moments of silence and years of agony before she heard a sigh and felt his hand on her arm, she refused to look at him.

"Do you really want this, my darlin'?"

What she wanted was to _scream_, to lash out at him for his rejection, but instead she nodded wearily,

"Since the moment I realized I loved ya"

Gently then, he took her hand and tucking it warmly into his own, slowly led her from the bathroom, through his own bedroom into hers. She looked around the warm room, lit by the morning sunlight-it was an expensive storage area, she had roomed with Logan, preferring the nights spent wrapped in his arms.  
Intimate but innocent.

She was _sick_ of innocence-particularly hers…

She couldn't meet his eye as he slid an arm about her waist, looking into her eyes,

"I adore you Marie, my beautiful darlin'"

He spoke without fear of embarrassment, even though his erection stood between them like a testament to their love.  
"Whatever…happens next…I want you t'remember that…you're my entire world"

Mute now she could only nod, struck silent by the moment. She didn't feel nervous or frightened, only eager for the passion to begin.

Slowly sinking into a crouch Logan tugged her white silk pajama pants to her ankles kissing the tips of her toes as he lifted her feet to remove them completely. Her underwear followed and she stood before him, her arms folded over her breasts, naked as he had never seen her.

He did the same with his boxers, his eyes never leaving hers as he nudged them down to his feet and kicked them off. She stole a glance at his manhood and blushed, in the back of her mind making a comparison to a snake and admiring the sheer size of the appendage.

She held out her hands and he took them, squeezing them softly,

"This may hurt darlin'" he warned her quietly, "Not as much as i'coul' but…I don' know how t'avoid it"

Marie shook her head, attempting to dispel his worry,

"Doesn' matter I can handle it"

He eased back towards the bed, she noted that he was arranging it so that she would straddle him, in complete submission to her. She felt her love for him flare even stronger in her breast, almost unbearable. Lying horizontally and keeping his feet on the floor he helped her lean forward and she moaned with shock as she felt the tip of his weeping cock brush her wet folds.  
Swallowing she clutched his hands harder as she eased his erection into her body, slowly taking him deep within her even as she tried to resist the intrusion. There was little resistance; her hymen had already been broken during one of their previous moments of intimacy when his fingers had shown her a taste of the pleasure to come. At the hilt she stopped and took a ragged breath,

"So full" she whimpered, closing her eyes as she was suddenly overcome with the new sensation, feeling every ripple and flow inside her.

"Oh Logan…Logan my love"

He released her hands and dug his fingers into her hips,

"You're tighter than I realized" he groaned, "Marie darlin'…I need you to move…I need you to slide up and down…_please_ baby"

"I…" Marie faltered and out of habit leaned down to Logan's embrace, he grunted and she could see that he was sweating, his veins were throbbing and he seemed to be struggling to breathe. He grunted and dug his fingers harder against her soft skin,

"Marie…I _can'_…" he sounded like he was choking on his desire; she felt tears prick her eyes in his pain.

"Logan…I love ya sugah…" she bent down and pressed her lips against his,

"Take me now"

He roared and in a fluid movement threw her onto her back landing them against the pillows in a more orthodox fashion. She gasped as he withdrew from her, cries of protest escaping her before he slammed back into her, her body quivering from the shock of the pleasure that came upon her in conjunction to the quick, deep thrusts.

"…oh…oh god…mmm _Logan_…yes…_ah_!"

Moans and barely understandable words fell from her lips as she threw her arms around his neck and rocked in time to his motions. Anything she had ever felt before was nothing compared to the emotion she was feeling now, as if she had been thrown into a sea of passion, the waves mounted high and crashed down upon her. She screamed his name as the orgasm hit her, straddling his hips all the better to reach up and press her lips to his jaw. The bliss threw her world into a wondrous love drunk haze and she tilted her head back all the better to see her lover. He still moved quick pace above her and the motion threw her back to the pillows, she bit her lip and smiled as she waited for the inevitable ending. She cried out in shock however as she felt the build up within her once more,

"Oh…_oh_ Logan my _love_"

He didn't seem able to hear her, instead his hands on either side of her head he continued as below she clenched the sheets, tearing them with her nails, as she sank deeper into pleasure. This orgasm left her weak and weeping with the wondrous sensation but she barely had time to stop quivering with the aftershocks before the third rushed through her. Her back arched and she grabbed Logan, digging her nails into his shoulders as the sweat ran down her skin and mingled with the juices at their junctures. Her body ached now and she was ill-prepared for the next wave of pleasure that overwhelmed her,

She couldn't scream this time,

Couldn't do anything more than moan a few words of love before sinking against the pillows finally realizing what Logan had meant about his fear of becoming uncontrollable in his love for her.

A wonderful darkness came after that.

* * *

_She felt motion as the bed disappeared beneath her.  
She felt warmth beside her and sought it._

Little drops of wetness landed on her knees and she felt confusion as it came with coarseness and softness.

_Light filtered into her vision and with it came many buzzing sounds, amongst them the keening of a pained animal. _

* * *

"Mmm?!"

Marie groaned as the morning light pierced her closed lids, annoyed she turned and snuggled deeper into the cool sheets. However even in her still- slumbering state she realized something was wrong.

The all too familiar presence of warmth and soft edges which symbolized Logan sleeping next to her was absent.

Disturbed she flung an arm out across the pillows, hoping that instead he had simply moved away from her in sleep. When she simply encountered more cool sheets and untouched pillows she opened her eyes, annoyed at being woken,

"…where?..."

"Darlin'!"

She rolled onto her side towards the sound and grunted in protest as she found herself being wrapped in the embrace of her lover. She waited for the crushing hold, the passionate kisses, the intimate caresses but they never came. Instead she found Logan's arms barely touched her, his lips giving her only the lightest pressure against her hair.

"I though' you'd never wake up" he moaned, rocking her as gently as he would a child, she shifted her weight to become more comfortable and winced at the ache between her legs. She felt him tense and slowly release her,

"It'll pass" he promised, sinking back to the edge of the bed, "But…how…d'you _feel_?"

"A little sore" she answered, blushing as she remembered the reason for the discomfort…

And how _enjoyable_ that reason had been,

"A little cold" she held out her arms to him, "Come back to bed Logan"

When he didn't respond she repeated her request but he only drew back further, leaving the bed and sitting himself on the love seat, she wrapped the sheets around her and slipped her legs to the floor, placing them onto the wooden floor. She felt hunger gnaw at her stomach and stood idly, looking to her wardrobe for clothes.

Except all her clothes were in her duffel bag on the floor.

"Where are we goin'?" she asked confused, brushing her hair from her eyes.

Slowly Logan rose to his feet and came to stand before her, placing his hands on her arms,

"I'm lettin' ya go darlin', you're not my prisoner anymore"

"Prisoner?" Marie shook her head in confusion, "I don' understan'…I…_prisoner_? I'm no'…"

"…not anymore" He corrected, scooping her bag from the floor and pressing the handles into her hands,

"I can have Morph take you back to Arizona tonight"

"_Arizona_?!"

Arizona, the desert where she had been given to Wolverine by Scott, handed over like an expensive present between two enemies- seen as two different things.

A sacrificial pawn to Scott- a way to give his people ground in battle.

An object of desire to Logan- something he had wanted for so long, had fought and bled for.

Arizona where her team would have long since moved on, certainly not long after she herself had flown to Magda. She would be able to find them again- but…

'Why is this happening?'

She murmured the question to herself, trying to catch up with events whirling too quickly around her. The warrior in her spoke, advising her to resort to logic,

"Last night" she looked across at him, the sheets slipping from her shoulders and barely covering her,

"Logan…you tol' me you love' me, what's…has somethin' happened on the battlefiel'…somethin' t'change our _arrangmen_'?"

"That was three days ago" he responded harshly, "You were out for three days!"

"Oh!" she shrugged and using his momentary anger as a distraction to entrap him, to wrap her arms around his neck and plant a kiss on his open mouth. He responded, clutching her tight to him and she chuckled low in her throat, glad that the threat of separation was gone, that it had simply been one of Logan's peculiar moments.

One of those times when his eyes grew dark and his voice hollow,

When he would speak of her as a third person,

Would turn the room upside down searching for some little remembrance of her even when she stood at his side beseeching him to calm down...

In times like that she would simply throw herself into his arms and shower him with kisses until he would become himself again. He would never properly remember the spells afterwards, he didn't seem to want to, as long as she showed no sign of having been frightened by him, he would lie back on the bed and cradle her lovingly, whispering whatever words he could think to express his feelings for her.

So when he pushed her away so roughly she stumbled, she couldn't comprehend what was happening, she was in too unfamiliar a territory.

"Why'd you do that?" he demanded and she frowned,

"Cause I love ya sugah," she simpered, "An' you love me, that's why we…"

"Do you really think I would have done that t'you if I _loved_ you? That I would have hur' you and used you like any other woman?"

Several parts of that sentence would later tear through her heart more effectively than any bullet or blade possibly could- but what drove her naked to her knees was the intended statement. She stared at Logan's boots, his scuffed and worn boots, she had been meaning to buy him a new pair- had been planning to go into Magda's shopping areas and find him a pair before his fell to pieces. She probably wouldn't do that now.

"Ya don'…" she struggled and tried again, "Ya don' love me?"

His voice was brusque and final "No"

"Huh" she winced at the emotional pain ripping through her body,

"Okay"

She would have said more, but the world went dark and she had the dimmest sensation of her head hitting the floor.


	22. Chapter 22

A/N- It will all be made clear shortly.

* * *

"He wants to _what_?!"

Everyone around the table jumped as the question was hollered at the unfortunate messenger. Emma unwittingly leant back in her seat and stared at the irate Scott Summers, her ex lover, as he dug his nails into the table as though he'd gladly like to tear it to shreds.

"Please tell me you _are_ joking" he growled through gritted teeth and Emma looked to Charles Xavier for confirmation of this supposed fact. The older man shook his head, unable to suppress his mirth,

"No, I received the information via his second-in-command, he's decided to release Marie from the deal you and he made and let her return to us" Xavier blinked and looked too innocently at Scott,

"Aren't you happy about this Scott?"

Emma rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to groan, Scott was livid enough- the last thing anyone needed tonight was him and Xavier going head to head. Feeling slight vibrations in the cheap wood on which they were all seated, she turned her head to where Kitty Pryde sat hunched over, her arms wrapped around her overtly thin frame in a desperate attempt to keep herself together.

It wasn't working.

Emma Frost had always prided herself on being strong, a warrior with a heart of stone, it had warmed slightly when she had fallen head over heels for Scott Summers, and it had shattered when Kitty Pryde had begun to die.

Nothing physical had harmed her. No mutant had attacked her with a power that would have such a debilitating effect- there was no mutant so powerful in existence. What was killing her was beyond anything the enemy could ever have done to her.

Kitty Pryde- at the age of eighteen and happily single- was dying of a broken heart.

* * *

"_How_ is this going to work?"

Attention turned to Hank McCoy, who had chosen to be the voice of reason,

"Surely they're not just going to release her with no strings attached? Our sources tell us that she's been in the heart of Magneto's new capital for months, that she's had access to and witnessed many secure happenings of the Brotherhood, how can they be sure she won't tell us everything she knows the moment she gets back to here? For that matter how are we going to get her here? We can't let a Brotherhood member see our base…" he paused and drummed his fingers against the table,

"No there is too many variables…I hate to say it but it might be almost easier to leave her there for the time being…at least until some sort of contract is…"

"The _contract_…" Scott interrupted to pounce on that information,

"What about that contract Pietro was supposed to draw up for everyone?"

Emma received enough telepathic signals to tell that Xavier was resisting the urge to chuckle,

"It was never drawn up, Wolverine refused to make Rogue sign it and Rogue had too much trust…misplaced obviously, in Wolverine to find one necessary"

"Well that's _ironic_"

Everyone at the table looked at Kitty Pryde, at the smile playing at the corner of her mouth, Emma felt the hopes of everyone at the table rise in unison with hers, but the smile faded too quickly. Another illusion, another misguided belief in her mythical recovery.

"So there is absolutely nothing to stop the Wolverine from returning to battle…_fuck_" Scott rubbed his hands over his face,

"We're back to square one!"

'Except now we're worse off' Emma thought, keeping her mental walls right up. She spent a lot of time with the soldiers, keeping alliances where they would otherwise be broken. Soldiers in the army were more support than all the rich businessmen, she'd learnt that early. She knew the enlisted moral had taken a blow when news had got out that Rogue had gone to the Brotherhood, many had thought she had defected, many more had known that she'd gone to keep the Wolverine out of battle and their assumptions had been gutter worthy. How much worse would it be when they knew she was being returned like unwanted trash?

How would Rogue feel?

"Perhaps they're fighting" she offered,

"A few words between a Southerner and Canuck and before you know it, World War Four's up and running"

Scott nodded, taking her input as levelly as he always had; one of the admirable things about him was that he had in no way sought to disposition Emma after their break-up.

"Possibly…but if Logan's angry enough to take the threat this far then Rogue'll be angry enough to call his bluff…_dammit_ if we could just talk to her…"

"Not possible" Xavier shook his head as he interrupted and to further prevent any possible chances of bloodshed Emma spoke up,

"He's right…I've tried to get my contacts to take messages from her to us or vice versa but they don't want to risk it…they're worried about Wanda Maximoff- apparently she's chomping at the bit for the chance to arrest dear Rogue"

"_Why?!_"

Emma shrugged, she had some theories, but none of them were useful information for the current moment.

"Because she's an X-Man? Because she's taking the best soldier out of battle and setting back what they'd assume to be a month or so impending victory?"

Dr McCoy sighed and removed his glasses, cleaning them on his lab coat,

"I say again; there's too many variables…this is…for the main part…out of our hands"

Scott didn't answer but simply sank to into his seat, covering his face. Xavier took it upon himself to end the meeting, wheeling out of the mess tent as the others chose to take their leave.

* * *

Emma lingered on, watching as the man she loved registered defeat. His proud shoulders sank and his head fell so far down his glasses slid from his nose and hit the table. Quietly she rounded the table and massaged his back, taking the expensive ruby quartz off the chipped wood and returning them to their rightful place. He exhaled thankfully and unthinkingly leaned back against her, seeking the comfort which he so desperately needed. She swallowed and resisted the urge to hold him against her breast,

To comfort him,

To go back on everything she had sworn she would live by,

To take Scott Summers in her arms and show him how strong her love for him still was.

"I honestly thought…" he broke off and turned his face to her, "…he _loves_ Rogue…he _must_ Ems…all these years…why else would he…do all that he has done?"

She could only shake her head, but he continued on relentlessly,

"No…no…I _knew_, the moment I saw him again…after all those years…the moment I hinted at her name…and…when I brought her to him…he looked at her the way I look at you…he loves her…you can't fake that kind of emotion"

He hadn't noticed when the tears started coursing down her cheeks, when she had thrown her head back to see the roof and curse the heavens for giving her a heart. Surrendering she slipped onto his lap and pressed her lips to his hair,

"It's okay Scott dear, I'm here…I'm here my love and we'll sort this all out"

He nodded and buried his face in her neck,

"Only if you're with me Ems, I'm not Wolverine…I could never do something like this to you…the _bastard_…I actually find myself hoping that Jubilation Lee finds what she's looking for…the ability to _kill_ him"


	23. Chapter 23

A/N- A short connecting chapter which will hopefully make everything make sense.

* * *

'_This is completely fucking idiotic'_

Veronique Campion was a decorated soldier for the Brotherhood,

Handpicked by Wolverine herself for her fighting skills and trained to near perfection.

But sweet God Almighty did she want to bitch slap the Rogue right now.

Her young charge luxuriated on the king size bed before her and for the last three hours had given herself a full manicure and pedicure, before deciding she wanted her precious nails to be a fluro yellow.

Unfortunately she didn't _have_ that color nail polish.

Morph had been summoned to the door of the room where Rogue had taken residence, Magneto's room itself, and had made the mistake of telling the Southerner that she'd have to paint her nails another color.

Half of Magda must have heard the tantrum that girl had thrown.

Certainly the Wolverine would have- which was probably the main reason Morph had run down to the city and bought every bright yellow polish he could find.

Just because the Wolverine was sending the Rogue back to the X-men- jumped and dumped- was no reason for any of his soldiers to assume they could treat her with anything but the utmost respect.

Anyone that tried quickly found themselves tasting Adamantium.

Ronnie sighed and focused on her leader's ex-lover before her. She was dressed in civilian clothes, with her recently washed hair wrapped in a towel, humming a cheerful ditty to herself…

While her entire body quivered with tension and her eyes brimmed with unshed tears as she fought to maintain her nonchalant image.

Seeing this Egret had to once again resist the urge to move across the room and take the poor girl into her arms reminding herself that they were both soldiers and beyond such displays.

Of course she also had to remind herself not to do the same for Wolverine when she saw him in a similar state.

It had taken her about three minutes after she had heard the stunned gossipers to realize something was deeply wrong-

One- she had seen Wolverine with Rogue- there was no possible way he didn't _love_ her.

Two- Wolverine had his most trusted men not only guarding Rogue night and day but running around like headless chickens to see to her every need- why would he bother if he didn't care what happened? She could hardly make a run for it- she had no reason to and was nameless miles deep into enemy terrioty.

Three- Wolverine was going to far too much effort to get Rogue back to the X-men a.s.a.p. almost as if he was afraid of what would happen otherwise.

Speaking of the devil…

Ronnie jumped as her comm. buzzed, digging into her pocket she saw the infamous Warrior himself had summoned her, muttering a barely audible excuse to her charge she quickly weaved her way around the unpacked bags and piled clothes in the room.

She wasn't even three steps into the hallway before she ran smack bang into her leader.

His eyes reminded her of the Rogue's just before she pulled one of her diva acts.

"Well?!"

"Uh" she took a deep breath, "She is refusing to leave until she has finished painting her nails sir,"

"_What_!"

"She has decided that she wanted to…"

"I'm aware of that Egret- her screaming reached the mess area"

"_Really_?"

"I want her gone from _here_ Egret"

"No sir you want her safe that's not the same thing"

Veronique Campion prided herself on her survival ability, well she had…

Might as well go the full way now.

"Sir…anyone can see you're still deeply in lov…"

"Marie ever talk to you about me Ronnie?"

She frowned and looked curiously at Wolverine, stunned by his sudden loss of anger, curious about the new glint in his eye,

"Yes she did"

He nodded, "She ever ask you bout my condition?"

She swallowed nervously, knowing by 'condition' he meant his slight lack of sanity, nothing noticeable to acquaintances but all his troops had seen or heard of at least one occasion when he had shown himself to be mentally unwell. She nodded,

"Yes sir…she mentioned a few times when…"

"I trashed our room, wandered off and had no memory of it later?" he prompted, raising an eyebrow, "And what did you say?"

"That I wasn't aware that you suffered from memory loss" she answered truthfully and he grinned bitterly,

"That's cause I don't Egret…"

"Furthermore I have dozens of witnesses who saw me around the House every time I was supposedly having a scene in my room. Men and women who'd know me well enough to spot an imposter in a second…"

"Which is why I didn't recognize the symptoms Rogue described to me" Ronnie muttered to herself as realization dawned on her,

"I thought the girl was simply confused or trying to prove your love for her, which was why her accounts were incorrect, because I never _saw_ them for myself I didn't see that they weren't your scenes and she wasn't familiar enough with that side of you to understand that it wasn't you"

She frowned, "Morph?"

Logan nodded, "He's our best bet, I didn't figure it out myself until a little while ago when Marie mentioned one of the times to me in passing, I immediately knew something was up and dug into Morph's life…just enough to see he and Wanda Maximoff have been communicating on a regular basis…mostly about their sex life and my Marie"

She switched into battle mode, "You think they want to hurt her sir?"

"I hate to sound vain Egret, but I know how Wanda feels about me…she made it obvious"

Ronnie had to agree with that one- pigeons and cockroaches knew how Wanda Maximoff felt about the Wolverine. Pigeons, cockroaches, Magneto and Quicksilver.

"Wolverine" she was no longer a soldier, she was one mutant being empathizing with another, seeing a man surrounded by threats whose only option to save his lover…

Was to lose her.

He shook his head, "I want Marie out of here by sundown Ronnie…" he slipped a hand into his jacket and produced an envelope, "I want this delivered into the hands of Katherine Pryde herself…I'm trusting you with the most important thing in my life…"

She took the envelope and slipped it into her top, it wasn't going anywhere,

"And I'll make sure that _thing_ of yours reaches the X-Men safe and sound Wolverine, you have my word"

* * *

A/N- Is it starting to make sense now?


	24. Chapter 24

A/N- You may think she's being selfish and the other's being stupid by not realising but they are both as exhausted as their writer.

* * *

Kitty Pryde had once believed in G-d,

A belief that had been spoilt once she had seen the inexplicable chaos of the universe.

Kitty Pryde had once believed in peace between humans and mutants,

A belief that had been ruined long before Magneto stepped up and began his war.

She had been afraid to believe in something so much higher and ethereal than herself after that, so she had set her standards to things she could see, things she could trust, things she had _loved_.

Kitty Pryde had once believed in the invincibility of Rogue and Jubilee.

A belief that had been destroyed when Rogue had landed into the hands of the Brotherhood, nothing more than a valuable pawn at the mercy of the Wolverine.

A belief that had been shattered when Jubilee had been driven mad by the loss and overnight disappeared from the face of the Earth- either dead or past caring about the innocent hundreds who relied on her to protect them…

Or the young girl who had loved her like a sister and needed someone to save her from despair.

So when Emma Frost had cleared their shared tent to make room and sworn to her, that come hell or high water, Rogue would be returned to them that very day...

She had simply refused to believe her.

Her heart couldn't afford to break again.

There wasn't enough pieces left to be put back together.

* * *

She had commandeered a Jeep for the day, following the directions Scott had given her to the landing pad, the agreed upon place for the helicopter. Driving alone through the abandoned streets of another ruined city, with a setting sun casting a tragic beauty upon the senseless destruction, Kitty found herself reflecting on her life. She knew that she had suffered more than her fair share of grief but now that she truly sifted through her memories, she could only remember the joyful ones.

Age twelve-with her mum and dad at a baseball match.

Age fifteen-when she and her best friend Jubilee had put pink hair dye in the shampoo of every student in the mansion.

Sixteen- when Piotr Rasputin had been her first kiss under the mistletoe.

Her happy memories became few and far between from that point, but even in the _worst_ of the warzones, Rogue or Jubilee, most of the time both of them had always been there.

Whether they had been shivering together under thin blankets or drinking away their grief in Rogue's homemade moonshine, times even when one of them was an injured, sobbing wreck _begging_ for an end to it all, there had been the fragile, unspoken belief that the three of them would make it out okay…

That they would _always_ be together.

That was the main reason a fully loaded gun sat in the passenger seat of the uncovered Jeep,

Kitty didn't want to face the world alone, not the chaotic apocalypse that fate had subjected her to.

If it turned out that Rogue's return was a trap, she would take out as many of the Brotherhood members that she was capable of…

But she wouldn't outlive them by long.

* * *

She reached the cleared city square and skidded to a halt in the middle of the street, feeling an odd surge of freedom in her ability to park wherever she liked, without worry of inspectors or tickets.

Perhaps that was true freedom, becoming unbound by the rules or restrictions of society.

Perhaps it didn't fucking matter.

There wasn't any official meeting party, no line of high ranking warriors from either side, Kitty wasn't even sure if Rogue was being escorted or just thrown into a helicopter and being given co-ordinates.

She settled herself on pacing back and forth across one side of the square, stepping tentatively around the nature that had begun its battle to reclaim the land.

With every sound that came from above her head Kitty found her gaze shooting to the sky, so when the roar of an engine reached her ears, her neck already ached from the strain of the exercise, but she still managed to tilt it to an impossible angle.

With laser point precision her eyes followed the black, tinted bird as it swept gracefully from the sky, suggesting either state of the art technology or a damn good flier. It landed with the barest disturbance to the area and the blades slowed to a halt.

Kitty Pryde had stopped breathing, she was sure she had stopped breathing, or maybe she just didn't notice because she was trembling so hard. Watching the helicopter as if her life depended on it…

The gun was holstered to her right thigh.

The first person to emerge from the darkness was too tall to be Rogue, Kitty could see that the moment the female touched the surface, she was leaner than her. Covered up in pilot attire, she removed her helmet, revealing long raven hair and dark skin. She turned back towards the opening and held out a hand…

The next woman to step from the machine definitely _was_ Rogue.

She seemed to tumble to the square, her hands clutching at the other woman, her hair flying wildly, concealing her face. But her eyes were still the same bright color when they settled on Kitty.

She appeared to be weak, but she gathered momentum as she moved towards her old friend, Kitty found tears on her cheeks as she was gathered in a hug by Rogue, a hug that was lacking in strength and feelings but was genuine for what it tried to be.

"I've missed ya both so much…" Rogue murmured into her hair,

"Oh Kit Kat ya have no idea…"

"It's hardly been a party without you, you know" Kitty laughed, nothing even as she did so that the other mutant was trying to catch her attention.

"Where's Jubes?" she whispered, pulling back and looking over her shoulder to the car,

"Why isn't she here t' meet me?"

Kitty swallowed nervously, "Um…she's waiting back at the base…"

She didn't miss the obvious eyebrow raising or chin jerk given to her by the Brotherhood woman. She guessed that what she was about to be told wasn't for Rogue's ears,

"You look tired honey, go wait in the car I'll…be there in a sec"

"Kay," Rogue threw a glance and tentative wave behind her,

"Bye Ronnie…thanks"

Ronnie looked between the two girls, "You don't want me to take a message for…?"

"_No_"

With that Rogue dragged herself off to the car leaving Kitty standing in the middle of the square with the enemy, something she never would have done in the old days.

The good, old, _dead_ days.

Ronnie hurried towards her, withdrawing an envelope from her jacket,

"I have to get back quickly so that no-one will be able to guess the location from the time-distance, I'm also wiping the co-ordinates from the log…this note is for you alone…Lo-Wolverine gave me the strictest instructions regarding that"

Kitty rolled her eyes, braver now she had her Rogue back,

"And why would I give a _damn_ about what he wants?"

Ronnie was already backtracking towards the helicopter but she had time to have the last word,

"Because he loves Marie…nothing will _ever_ change that"

Kitty glared murderously at her and continued to do so until the blades starting turning again, carelessly she tore open the envelope and yanked the plain white paper open. What she saw was a letter that had been written in a hurry and was probably all the more genuine for it,

_Shadowcat,_

_Wanda Maximoff was planning to kill Marie and frame me for her murder in the hope of battlefield retaliation from the X-Men, I'm sending her back to you for both her safety and your teams. You have no reason to believe any word that comes from my mouth or that I put on paper but know that I love Marie and had to hurt her to convince her to leave me. She told me about Jubilee and yourself being her best friends and I thank-you for the comfort you've given her over the years, _

_I will do my best to see Jubilee returned to you safely, even if she has found a way to kill me I will hopefully be able to ensure her escape first._

_Please never show Marie this letter, we both know she'll come running back to Magda if she sees it. _

_Logan._

Slowly Kitty folded the small letter into itself three times before tearing it up into little tiny shreds, hating herself as she realized that she no longer knew the reason for her actions. With a determined gait she marched back to the Jeep and climbed into the driver's seat, snatching her gun from Rogue and slamming it into the glove box. Rogue jumped at her actions and through her cloud of anger Kitty could see the exhaustion in her friend's eyes, the misery that would be heightened by sevenfold when she discovered the truth about Jubilee.

Why add anything to that?

"Kit Kat" Rogue shifted in her seat to look at her, propping her head on her hand,

"Is there something I nee' t'know?"

Kitty smiled her cruelest smile, "Of course not"


	25. Chapter 25

A/N- Last chapter, so many of you are gonna hate me for this.

* * *

It was done.

She was gone.

The love of his life- his Marie, his beautiful darlin' was gone.

Suffering shock Logan wandered blindly into the room she had taken before her departure, stopping in the middle of the small area to inhale her gorgeous scent. His own had long since overpowered the magnolias and warmth in, what had been, _their_ room.

Crawling onto the bed, he sat at the head, setting his legs on the floor, as he clutched her pillow to his chest like a child would a teddy bear.

It was _done_.

After seven years of madness, of bloodshed, of slavery…every crime he had committed just to be closer to his goal of _her_, and he'd been forced to send her away.

Seven years waiting for her and only three short months together… and now…

Loneliness.

Now and forever.

Long unending loneliness.

He buried his face in the pillow and tried to drown himself in her scent, that of the only woman he would ever love.

But the intruder made that difficult- even if she was his salvation.

"Before you do anything, you should know that there's a secret door that leads from this room to a passage of tunnels, leads straight out of Magda, you better take it"

"Why should I do _anything_ you tell me to?"

"Cause you're Rogue's friend, I don't want to cause her anymore grief"

"Right because getting away from you would cause her _so_ much grief"

He allowed himself a rueful smile at the amount of sarcasm in the young girl's voice, you could say what you liked about Xavier and Summers, but there was no denying that they raised their students to have balls.

"I'd like to think so"

"Then you're crazy as well as evil"

He decided not to comment on the unnecessary statement, but raised his head to lock eyes with his intended killer.

* * *

What he saw flooded him with legions of pity.

Logan had avoided mirrors with a passion during his seven years of hell, not only because he hadn't been interested, but, more often than not, he had seen enough of himself in the shocked and uneasy expressions of those closest to him not to need to.

Seeing Jubilee now however, gave him a pretty good idea of how he must have looked.

Her hair hung lank to her elbows, unwashed and with graying streaks that revealed her emotional agony. Her skin was sallow and clung to her bones, making her yellow, milky eyes protrude from her face and her chapped and bleeding lips even more pronounced.

She looked emaciated, as if the desire for revenge had sucked all the life from her body.

Though from what he knew of desire- perhaps his assessment wasn't too far off.

What strength she lacked in body however, she made up for with the sword in her hands.

The Murasma Blade.

Forged in the forgotten temples in the hidden hilltops of Japan in the early twentieth century, the long sword with the golden handle blessed and cursed by several samurais had been created to combat the perceived threat of the intruding soldier cum student. Upon knowledge of his adamantium skeleton the sword had been reformed with carbonadium, the one time that a metal stronger than adamantium had been successfully made and survived long enough to be a threat. Logan had only been made aware of its existence when it had been stolen by the Yukuza, a long time enemy of both himself and those who had trained him. He had recovered it without any damage to himself but had demanded that it be given to Yuko, a fellow student whose supernatural abilities he trusted to keep the weapon safe from harm.

Over one hundred years later Logan had assumed it safely lost.

Apparently not.

He buried his face in the pillow one last time, drowning himself in the scent of his beloved, fighting the tears that threatened to spill at the thought of never seeing Marie again.

_I love you!_

He screamed that into eternity, willing his darlin', wherever she was, to hear that…to know that his feelings had never changed and…no matter _what_ came after life, never would.

Taking a deep breath to prepare himself, he moved slowly, so as not to startle his intended murderer, placing the pillow back in place and sinking to his knees on the floor. He kept his eyes focused on the wall before him as Jubilee skittered back and then, obviously regaining her courage, prepared herself for the task at hand.

"Any last words?"

He chuckled at the cliché, like she would carry them on anyway.

Still, he raised his eyes to lock with hers,

"This world…I never had a string of good moments that weren't followed by grief or agony…my life was one long never ending battle for survival and at times I just wanted to give in…but then…I was rewarded with having met Marie, having been able to see the kind of life she and I could have had together had fate not intervened…it wasn't perfect…but it was enough that…for a time…I was _happy_"

He closed his eyes instinctively as the sword slashed through his neck, severing it from his body in one smooth cut. The blood spurted from the wound and in the moments before all oxygen left his brain he managed to open his eyes. Before him lay a body, quivering in the throes of death, the white shirt darkening with red.

Then he succumbed to the darkness.

And all that remained of the Wolverine was the small stream of blood that trickled onto the floor to mingle with Jubilee's.


End file.
